Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Home court less than friendly for Wolves, Wolverettes

Home court advantage didn't help either of Prescott's senior teams against Mena Friday night.

The Wolves dropped a heartbreaker, 60-56, while the Wolverettes took one on the chin, 54-26, at the hands of the Lady Bearcats.

WOLVES 56

BEARCATS 60

The Wolves managed to lead most of the first half, but went cold from the floor in the second segment as Prescott's senior boys fell to Mena 60-56.

Prescott took the opening tip and scored, building the lead to 10-5 with 2:52 showing in the first quarter.

The Wolves had the chance to widen the gap against the Cats, but failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

Mena recognized Prescott's mistake and fought back.

Late three-point shots propelled the Wolves to a 17-11 lead at the end of one.

Prescott worked its offense to get the second quarter opened. Fans saw plenty of action, but little scoring early on. At the 6:13 mark, Prescott led 20-16.

Though the Cats weren't able to wrest the lead from Prescott, Mena stayed close. The Cats did outscore the Wolves 13-10 in the second period and trailed at the break 27-24.

In the second half, however, cold shooting from the Wolves spelled Prescott's doom, as Mena was more consistent from the floor.

The Cats tied the game at 27-27, after stealing the ball and making three points the old fashioned way  a field goal and free throw.

Prescott's Jason Butler made several strong moves inside, but was outnumbered by the taller Cats.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, Joe Steuart had an off night, scoring 17 points instead of his season average of 29. Steuart had several opportunities for points, only to have the ball bounce out or hit nothing but iron.

Still, the teams played relatively evenly in the third period, with Mena managing to take the lead late, 41-38.

Period four saw the two squads battle back and forth. The contest was tied several times, with the lead changing hands regularly.

However, as the game wound down, Mena managed to build a 57-52 lead, forcing Prescott to foul to stop the clock.

While the Wolves and their fans were hoping the Cats would freeze at the line, this wasn't the case, as Mena was perfect in the waning seconds.

Steuart's 17 was the game's high. Ray Smith chipped in 14 for Prescott while A.J. Lewis added 11.

Fowler paced Mena with 12, while Pitchford netted 11.

WOLVERETTES 26

LADY CATS 54

Three cold quarters were too many for Prescott as the Wolverettes succumbed 54-26 to Mena.

The Wolverettes led throughout the first quarter, though Mena scored the opening tip.

The Lady Cats had problems finding the bottom of the bucket early in the first period, while Prescott managed to take a 4-0 lead midway through the period.

There was plenty of action, but little scoring, as the two crews went back and forth, with neither shooting well.

Period one ended with the Wolverettes holding a 14-13 lead

Then, the bottom fell out for Prescott.

Fouls had piled up against the Wolverettes in the first quarter, and continued into the second. This resulted in Tammy Harris and LaSheena Gillard spending quality time on the bench.

But, while Harris and Gillard were in the game, the Wolverettes increased their lead to 17-13.

However, when Harris left the game, Mena came back and tied the contest at 19-19 with 3:38 showing. From there, the Lady Cats had an 11-0 run for the rest of the quarter and led 30-19 at the half.

The second half didn't improve the situation for Prescott, as the Wolverettes had fits scoring, managing a total of seven points in the entire half.

Mena's offense, though, found its groove and started putting points on the board.

The Lady Cats opened the third with a 7-0 run, building the lead to 37-19 before Prescott managed to get a shot to fall.

The Wolverette problems were compounded by turnovers, which allowed Mena more scoring chances.

Period three ended with Mena leading 45-24.

It was more of the same in the fourth period. Gillard fouled out and Harris played with four fouls. This led to the Wolverettes not being able to be as aggressive as the team usually is.

Mena outscored Prescott 9-2 in the final eight minutes.