Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Lady Devils Fall To Wolverettes In Finals

There are times when a week off can be beneficial for a team.

On the other hand, there are also times when a week off is a detriment.

Gurdon's senior girls had a week off between the time they played Stamps until the finals of the 7AA District Tournament in Fordyce.

The time off was of no help to the Lady Go-Devils, as they fell in the finals 60-45 to Prescott.

While the Lady Devils were undefeated in conference play, beating Prescott twice (once in league action), tournaments had been a problem for the team. In fact, all four losses the team suffered had been in tournaments.

As conference champions, the Lady Devils received an automatic bye to the finals of the district tourney.

However, the Prescott Wolverettes had to battle from their third place finish in the league to reach the final game.

This meant the Wolverettes played two games in the tourney while Gurdon's girls watched.

The two squads played relatively even in the first eight minutes, with Prescott taking a 13-8 lead into the second quarter.

The Lady Devils then lit it up from the perimeter as they rained three pointers all over Prescott to take a 29-21 lead at the half.

Gurdon continued holding off the Wolverettes in the third frame as they led 36-31 heading into the final stanza.

This is where the bottom fell out.

Two of the Lady Devils' leading scorers wound up riding the pines with four fouls each. This left the door open for Prescott.

Not only did the Wolverettes run through the door, they battered it down as they outscored the Lady Devils 29-9 in the period to post the 60-45 win and be the district champs.

Donald Williams' team was led by freshman LaVonna Young's 15 points. She was the only member of the Lady Devils to broach double figures.

Prescott, on the other hand, had three players in double figures. Gladies Gulley led all scorers with 14, while Ashlea Stewart and Stacy Stockton had 13 each.

The Lady Devils canned eight three point shots in the contest, but had problems in the paint as they only scored 16 points from the field as well.

The Lady Devils had a poor shooting night from the free throw line as they were only able to convert five of 17 attempts.

Prescott shot better, hitting 15 of 25.

"Our shots stopped falling and Prescott was able to put points on the board," Williams said.

The Lady Devils were without the services of their floor leader Tabitha Thomas, who suffered a severe knee injury against Stamps.

Williams said no one stepped up to take Thomas' place as leader when the Wolverettes began their comeback.

"If we could have gotten one or two more baskets, things may have been different," he said. "Alicia (Clayborn) went out with four fouls and we had no one else on the floor (as leader)."

But, it's difficult for any team to beat another team three times in the same season. On the two other occasions Gurdon and Prescott met, the Lady Devils were able to overcome late game deficits and post wins.

This wasn't to be Saturday night, as the Lady Devils led going into the fourth quarter and Prescott responded accordingly.

"They got our best two out with fouls and took it to us," Williams said. "I would have done the same thing to them, though.

"They saw the chance to put us down and took it. I've always said Prescott is the best team in the conference. They have five people who can score, we only have two."

Williams said without Thomas to guide the Lady Devils, the team played like it was lost. He said the girls panicked when they got behind and no one stepped up to take control.

"To be successful," he said, "Clayborn will have to take over. We need our guards to score.

"It's a team game and we need people to step up."

The fact a freshman (LaVonna Young) was the leading scorer, Williams said, shows none of the others were scoring.

"Prescott's a good club. I've got a lot of respect for them. I knew we'd be in for it if they made it to the finals."

However, the loss means Gurdon is the second seed team from the 7AA in the regional finals, which began Tuesday in Star City.

The Lady Devils drew Warren in their first round game, Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Williams said Warren is a good club and one of the top teams in the 8AA. In fact, he said Warren split with Drew Central and played 8AA champs Star City close in two games.

The Lady Lumberjacks, Williams said, like an up tempo game and have good shooters from the wing.

He said the Lady 'Jacks primarily run a 1-3-1 defense, but also play a man-to-man defense and press out of a 1-2-1-1 zone.