Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolverettes handle Mena's girls

After a slow first quarter, the Wolverettes looked as though they would blow the Lady Bearcats away.

This, though wasn't the case, as Prescott's senior girls had to fight from behind to pull out a 50-46 win.

The Lady Cats got the scoring underway, and led 3-0 with six minutes showing in the opening frame.

Prescott scored its first points with 4:05 on the clock, and took a 4-3 lead at the 3:11 mark.

The Lady Cats tied the game at 4-4, by hitting a free throw with 1:58 left in the first.

The Wolverettes added another bucket and scoring ended in the period with Prescott up 6-4.

The Lady Cats pressure defense prevented Prescott from getting its offense in gear.

However, the Wolverettes controlled the pace in the second quarter, as they began pulling away from Mena.

The Lady Cats were forced to work the ball around the perimeter as Prescott's 2-3 zone kept Mena out of the paint.

The Wolverettes were aggressive on the glass on both ends of the court, moving Mena players out of position while they pulled down the rebound on missed shots.

Prescott's girls also found their stroke on offense, as they built a 20-6 lead and closed the first half out leading 24-9.

It was a different story in the third quarter, as the Lady Cats came out and took control of the game, all but shutting the Wolverettes down.

In fact, Mena outscored Prescott 23-6 in the period, most of which was played on the Lady Cat half of the court, as the Wolverettes had problems getting across midcourt.

When the stanza closed, Mena was leading 32-30, with Prescott fans wondering what had happened.

The gloves came off in the fourth quarter, and all ladylike play vanished as the two teams fought for the win.

Mena was in the bonus to start the final eight minutes, and also got the ball. Prescott, though, scored first to tie the game at 32-32.

However, several Wolverettes were playing with three fouls as the officials started calling touch fouls. This slowed the game, and wound up putting Mena at the line more often than not.

But, the Lady Cats shot poorly from the stripe, netting only 15 of 29. Poor free throw shooting doomed Mena's girls down the stretch, the Wolverettes and their fans didn't mind, though.

Liz Wilson was called for her fourth foul with 6:42 left, even though a Mena player had reached in for the ball, while Wilson twisted away from her.

With 6:15 showing, Mena led 36-33. The Lady Cats worked to slow the pace, while the Wolverettes turned up the heat.

Prescott's girls began firing, and finding the net, from all points on the floor, while Mena worked for shots.

At the 4:41 mark, trailed 40-39 lead after Mary Delgado nailed a three-pointer. Mena's scoring was almost done, while the Wolverettes had some offense remaining down the stretch.

Mena's final lead came with 2:05 showing and the score 41-40. At this point, Wilson was called for her fifth foul, though a Lady Cat had jumped over Wilson's back after a rebound. Tearfully, Wilson left the game.

Delgado nailed a three to give Prescott a 46-44 lead, with the Wolverettes not bothering to look back.

Time favored Prescott, though not by much. Mena was forced to foul as seconds ticked off the clock, and the Lady Cats found themselves unable to catch up.

The Wolverettes stepped up in the final minute, nailing free throws to seal the win. Prescott hit 12 of 14 from the line during the game.

Tammy Harris led the Wolverettes with 20 points.

Rachelle Bonner and Brianna Ross scored 12 each for Mena, while Audra Johnson added 10.