Cloverdale drops heartbreaker by two

Cloverdale sophomore Sydney Shrum scored four points and was a major rebounding presence inside for the Clovers in their 37-35 loss to Union Dugger Thursday.

CLOVERDALE -- In its second game of the season, the youth bug bit the Cloverdale Clovers as they fell to Union Dugger 37-35 at home in a heartbreaking loss.

The Clovers found themselves trailing most of the game, but within striking distance. The team's biggest strength on the night was their ability to snag multiple rebounds and have a big presence inside. Those combined factors led to the Clovers cutting the lead and ultimately take the lead late in the game.

The Clovers drew within one point at 27-26 at the end of the third quarter after Cedar Woodworth blocked a Bulldogs shooter, then teammate Amillia Nally tossed the ball to a breaking Paige Gruener for the bucket.

However, the Bulldogs bite back with a three pointer from Cheyenne Goodman just before the break to extend the lead to four points at 30-26.

The Clovers responded by scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter to knot things up at 30-all.

Nally hit a jumper and senior Holly McCammon stole the ball in the open floor and drove in to tie the game. After the Bulldogs scored, Nally took the ball the length of the court to tie the game at 32-all.

The score stayed there until McCammon busted things open with a three-pointer to give CHS the lead 35-32 with 3:52 remaining. The bulk of the Cloverdale squad is a young group and the inexperience showed itself at the most inopportune time.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to one after a Shayna Nichol bucket and took the lead 37-35 following a long bomb from Morgan Stanifer with :54 seconds remaining in the game. After a failed possession by the Clovers, Union Dugger regained possession with :40 seconds left in the contest.

With the game within reach, the Clovers allowed the Bulldogs to keep the ball out front and failed to foul and watched as the clocked ticked away to all zeroes.

Stanifer already stung the Clovers, hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer in the first quarter to break an 8-all tie. The Bulldogs doubled its lead going into the half and led 20-14.

Cloverdale outscored the Bulldogs 21-17 in the second half. McCammon led the way with 16 points, followed by Woodworth with six and Nally and Sydney Shrum with four points each. Bristy Skiles had three and Gruener had two. The Clovers received a lift from some strong inside play by Shrum and Woodworth who grabbed rebound after rebound for the Clovers.

Cloverdale will travel to Owen Valley Monday for an 8 p.m. tip off.

At Cloverdale

Union Dugger 11 9 10 7 -- 37

Cloverdale 8 6 12 9 -- 35

Union Dugger -- Stanifer 18, Goodman 12, Nichol 5, Horton 2. Totals: 13-48 FG, 7-14 FT, 37 TP.

Cloverdale -- McCammon 16, Woodworth 6, Shrum 4, Nally 4, Skiles 3, Gruener 2. Totals: 14-43 FG, 3-8 FT, 35 TP.

Next game -- Cloverdale will travel to Owen Valley Monday for an 8 p.m. tip.