Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bad Night In Field Causes Loss For Lady Devils

Having an off shooting night isn't a good thing when playing the Prescott Wolverettes.

Unfortunately for the Lady Devils, they had a bad night from the field Tuesday, Dec. 1, and paid the price as Prescott posted a 70-36 win.

Gurdon's defense kept Prescott off balance, while the offense had its share of opportunities to put the ball in the hole. However, the Lady Devils simply couldn't buy a basket. In fact, it seemed as though a lid was closed over the rim.

They did, though, mine quite a bit of iron as shot after shot hit the rim and bounced harmlessly away from the goal.

The game began as a typical Gurdon-Prescott contest both teams racing full tilt up and down the court, firing shot after shot at the goal and making sure paint area was not a place for the faint of heart.

Prescott's accuracy, though, showed up early as Traci Graham nailed one from beyond the arc to get the game underway and give the Wolverettes a lead they would never give up.

The Lady Devils rallied, getting a deuce to answer Prescott's trey, but saw the Wolverettes pull to a 7-2 lead with 5:09 left in the first.

The officials called a close game and the fouls piled up on both sides.

Gurdon collapsed inside to deny easy points in the lane, but forgot about Andrea Cossey, who fired away from the wing and made the Lady Devils pay for their forgetfulness.

Neither team asked for any quarter in the game, and neither gave any either.

Period one, though, ended with Gurdon on the wrong side of a 17-7 score. In fact, the Lady Devils would not score more than 10 points in any period.

But, the Lady Devil defense filled the lanes and picked off pass after pass, drove downcourt and put up good shots. The shots, though, did everything but fall.

Gurdon battled for each rebound, knocking Wolverettes out of the way, and often to the floor with the brutally physical play, but was simply unable to convert on offense.

Gurdon Coach Sandra Hatley used a variety of defenses against Prescott, and getting a measure of success, while Prescott mentor Bill Cossey relied primarily on a 1-3-1 zone.

A minute into the second quarter, Gurdon caught what appeared to be a break as Graham sat down with three fouls. Both teams were in the bonus at this point as well.

Still, the Lady Devils were unable to take advantage of this opportunity and the Wolverettes continued firing away. With 4:35 left, Prescott led 23-11, extending this to 32-16 with 2:00 showing.

However, the Lady Devils made a costly error with 1:05 to go, as Stacy Stockton was fouled and Gurdon was nailed with a technical foul on top of this. Stockton converted three of the four shots to put Prescott up 37-16.

Prescott got the ball after the free throws, but turned it over trying to get it in bounds.

Halftime, though, showed Gurdon on the short end of a 37-17 score.

Only the score changed in the third quarter as the two teams came out shooting at every chance.

Gurdon pressed defensively, but couldn't stop Prescott's offense. The quarter ended with the score 54-27.

The Wolverettes opened the final frame with an 11-0 run, while Prescott Coach Cossey emptied his bench.

Still, the Lady Devils refused to quit and fought hard until the final buzzer sounded.

Tiffany Ware was the only member of the Gurdon squad to break the double-point barrier with 10.

Stockton and Andrea Cossey led all scores with 19 each. Graham, in spite of her limited play contributed 13, while Jeanie Haynie added 12.

Free throws were another problem for Gurdon as the Lady Devils only hit seven of 20 from the line.

Prescott, on the other hand, connected on 17 of 25.

The Lady Devils will next be in action Thursday in the opening round of the Go-Devil Classic, as they tangle with Sparkman at 6:40 p.m.