MORAN A few untimely lulls have done in Crest Highs girls on the young 2018-19 season.
Weve either had a bad beginning or a bad ending, head coach Megan Mason said. Were still trying to figure it out.
The Lady Lancers may have figured out a few keys Friday, taking control in the second quarter against host Marmaton Valley. The Wildcats stayed within arms length after that, but could never get over the hump in Crests 43-39 victory.
One of the keys to victory, Mason said, was Crests poise and effort.
When we got back (from Christmas break), I saw a different team, Mason said. They got their legs back underneath them. Having fresh legs helped a lot.
Crests pressure defense took over in the second quarter, keying a 14-2 Lady Lancer run.
Marmaton Valley twice got within a point in the second half, but could never hit a shot to jump ahead.
We started out well, but we got lazy on defense, Wildcat head coach Sherri Bagshaw said. And then we got into foul trouble in the second half.
That meant several younger players were pushed into action.
These girls are still learning how to win, Bagshaw said. Our records the same as last year, but unlike last year, were not losing by 40, were losing by four. But weve got to work on our rebounding, and on free throws.
Five Lady Lancers scored points in Crests pivotal second-quarter spurt. Marmaton Valleys Bailey Griffith scored four straight points early in the third quarter to cut Crests lead to 22-21, but a Regan Godderz 3-pointer re-established a four-point lead.
The lead yo-yoed between three and six points from there until Godderz hit a pair of free throws, followed by a Rylee Beckman steal. Beckman dished back to Godderz, who was fouled and hit one free throw to give Crest a 41-34 advantage.
The lead never shrank less than that until Marmaton Valleys Alyson Ard drilled a trey in the waning seconds for the final margin.
One of the things weve really worked on is performing under pressure, Mason said. It was nice to play and not be behind.
Godderz paced the victors with 14 points, followed by Aubree Holloran with nine.
Griffith scored 11 of her game-high 15 points after the break to pace the Wildcats. Ard added 12.
