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Late Clover rally falls shorts against Vikings
CLOVERDALE – A sluggish first half left Cloverdale too much work to do Tuesday night in trying to track down West Vigo.
A 15-point gap was closed to three points in the final minute but the Clovers didn’t have the time to try and tie the game, falling 42-38 in WIC girls’ basketball play.
“There were two different teams out there tonight,” Cloverdale head coach James Wade said. “The first three quarters, I don’t know what team that was as I don’t know what was in our girls’ heads but it wasn’t what we taught them.
“We didn’t slide right on defense, didn’t run the offense and everything was in slow motion, which was confusing for us as a staff. They did have some fight in them and made a run but tight-game situations like that are not things we’ve had a chance to work on.”
Cloverdale dug its hole early by not scoring a field goal in the first quarter and only getting two Amilia Haga free throws in total, trailing 12-2 after eight minutes of play.
A mix of scoring helped West Vigo as the visitors hit four threes in the first half with five baskets on the inside to keep the Clovers off balance as sophomores Jaycee Elkins, Delaney Marrs and Hannah Stepp each had 18 of the team’s 22 first-half points.
The Clovers found some offense in the second quarter, getting baskets from Sarah Nichols and Syrie Ford while Haga hit a three as the hosts trailed 22-11 at halftime.
After falling behind by 15, Cloverdale briefly brought the lead down to 10 after a pair of Emily Mann baskets but Stepp hit a three and Marrs scored on the inside to push the lead back out to 15, eventually taking a 34-21 lead into the final period.
The Clovers put West Vigo into the bonus within the first minute of the final quarter but West Vigo failed to capitalize, only going 3-of-12 from the stripe.
Mann would hit 4-of-5 free throws before fouling out with two minutes to play yet it was at that point the hosts found a rallying point.
Haga hit a three to finally bring the lead into single digits at 40-32 just before Mann fouled out, adding a three-point play to make it 40-35.
Ford stole the ball on the next Viking possession but Haga traveled and a free throw from Stepp made it 41-35.
Haga banked in a three with 25 seconds to go but Marrs hit another free throw and a late block helped the visitors over the line.
“We weren’t ready for a few things late on,” Wade said about the closing stretch. “That said, we shot 23 free throws and only gave up a couple of offensive rebounds, which is good for us.
“We’re trying to find the positives that we can. It was just unfortunate it took us so long to start playing competitive basketball.”
Cloverdale returns to action as part of a varsity doubleheader against Cascade Friday at 6 p.m.