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By Scott Vanscoy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Blue Eye Lady Bulldogs traveled to play Sparta on Monday night. Both teams came into the night state-ranked in their respective classes. Blue Eye had beaten Sparta three weeks earlier in the Sparta tournament, so the Trojans were looking for some payback. In a good old-fashioned SWCL battle to the end, Sparta squeaked out a 55-53 victory over the Bulldogs.
“In the end it came down to toughness and rebounding,” said Blue Eye head coach Ken Elfrink. “They wanted it, they made big shots. They got some big offensive rebounds and put backs. We had our chances. Give Sparta credit, they guarded us pretty well all night and we didn’t hit the boards and got in some foul trouble; that hurt us a little bit but that wasn’t the difference. Even on free throws they got some offensive rebounds and put backs at big times in the game. We played well, Sparta played well. Both teams knew that this could be the difference in the Conference. We don’t like to lose at all but that’s just the nature of the beast and you learn more from losing if you want to. Hopefully we can learn from it and go back tomorrow and get back to work.”
The Trojans had lost four of their last seven games coming into tonight and Blue Eye had won nine straight, so the momentum favored the Bulldogs.
Blue Eye got off to a quick start in the first quarter, while Sparta struggled defensively. Blue Eye had their 1-3-1 defense playing well and forcing turnovers as they took a 13-8 lead after one quarter.
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The second quarter Blue Eye kept the pressure on the Trojans and saw their lead balloon to 12 points before Sparta started a comeback. The Trojans managed to cut the Blue Eye lead to six by halftime, 33-27, gaining some momentum going into the half.
“We came out rough, you could tell we had some nerves, but once we got the gap down to four we got the motivation back on our side and it was easy to just keep going,” said Sparta sophomore Megan Brown. “We had our student section into it, the whole crowd was into it, and it just felt great to feel all the support from our town. Our goal was to shut down the Arnold twins and I feel like we did that, we got around the screens. Our help side was great and we rebounded really well. I’m proud of my team.”
In the second half Sparta picked up their defense and was denying the ball and contesting every shot. Blue Eye went cold from the field and there seemed to be a lid on the bucket, as they scored just four points in the third quarter. Sparta was hitting the boards hard; they had many offensive rebounds that they put back for two points. At the end of three, Sparta had taken the lead on Blue Eye, 39-37.
Sparta rode their momentum into the fourth quarter, taking a 46-39 lead before Blue Eye called a timeout with seven minutes to go. The timeout must have worked because the Bulldogs scored the next six points to make the score 46-45. Sparta’s Brooklyn Roller was fouled shooting a three with 4:23 left in the game. She made two of the three free throws to put her team up 48-45. Blue Eye did not answer on their next possession, but with 3:23 to go Sparta was called for an offensive foul, giving Blue Eye yet another chance to tie the game. Bulldog Makayla Johnson got her only two points in the half on a putback with three minutes to go.
Neither team shot the ball well from the free throw line but Sparta’s Natalie Wilks made one of two free throws to put the Trojans ahead by two, 49-47. Blue Eye did not score on their next possession, forcing them to foul with 55 seconds to go. Sparta sophomore Brynn Holt made one of two free throws, Sparta got the offensive rebound on the missed free throw, and Brown put one back in the bucket to make the score 52-47. Brown fouled out and on the ensuing free throws Blue Eye’s Gracyn Fairchild made one of the two free throws.
On the next possession, Sparta’s Laney Humble shot two free throws, missing the first and making the second with 20 seconds on the clock. With only 15 seconds remaining, Blue Eye’s Riley Arnold made a runner to put her team down by three, 53-50. At 12.8 on the clock, Sparta’s Humble made two free throws, giving them a two possession lead. Blue Eye’s Riley Arnold knocked down a three pointer from deep with less than five seconds to go in the game. Blue Eye burned their final timeout to discuss their strategy. Sparta turned the ball over, giving Blue Eye a chance with 3.4 seconds remaining. Blue Eye failed to inbound the ball, as Humble stole the inbounds pass, sealing the deal for Sparta, 55-53.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking; we hadn’t beat Blue Eye in a long time,” said Sparta sophomore Humble. “I got hurt when we played them this year in our tournament and was out for four games. All of us just trying our hardest and playing as a team, it paid off, it’s a great win.”
Sparta coach Josh Loveland was impressed with his girls and their no-quit attitude.
“It was an exciting one, we knew it was going to be an exciting one, they are really good,” said Loveland. “We knew we were good enough to beat them, we just had to put it together. I felt like tonight we kept our composure, we just kept coming, down by 12 or 13 in the second quarter and came back to cut it to 6 at halftime. Our goal was to try to get the lead before the fourth quarter. We were able to do that and we were able to hold it. We were definitely trying to not let one of the twins catch it at the end of the game. We were going to fight through every screen we could and try not to let them catch it. Right place, right time and the ball ends up in our hands. We just stepped it up a little the second half, put more pressure on everybody, we rebounded well, held them to four points in the third quarter, and it was a game changer.”
Sparta’s team is in the state rankings for the first time since 2009 when they ran the table and won the state title. This team of mostly underclassmen is confident but they know it won’t be an easy road ahead of them.
“I think we compare pretty good to the 2009 team if we keep our attitudes and mentality up, I think we have a bright future,” said Humble. “We want to win districts this year. We got moved up to Class 3, and if we make it past districts it would be amazing.”
Blue Eye—Avery Arnold-9, Riley Arnold-16, Gracyn Fairchild-9, Kyla Warren-6, Makayla Johnson-5, Samantha George-8
Sparta—Laney Humble-12, Ashlyn Roller-2, Brooklyn Roller-9, Aysha Fulton-3, Natalie Wilks-5, Brynn Holt-10, Megan Brown-14
Blue Eye 13 20 4 16 53
Sparta 8 19 12 16 55
