Clinging to a one-possession lead and battling an energetic crowd decisively rooting against them, the Glendale Lady Falcons came up with three huge stops in the final minute to turn back a feisty Central squad at The Pit on Thursday.
The taxing 47-42 win for Glendale (9-10) came after the Lady Falcons were able to hold homestanding Central (5-13) to just a pair of field goals over the game's final five minutes.
Although head coach Renee Temple's team didn't fare any better offensively in that same stretch – hitting on just one shot from the floor – the Lady Falcons' defensive front ultimately made the late offensive woes a moot point.
“That's something that we've spent a lot of time on, our defense and our intensity,” Temple said after the win. “I thought that paid off there at the end for us.”
Glendale got off to a hot start in Thursday's contest, making Central's 2-3 zone defense look silly by busting out to a 10-2 advantage after a Gabby Mathews and-1.
“I know they're very effective in their zone,” said Temple in reference to Central. “We just felt like we needed to break it down and kind of attack the seams and the gaps in it. I thought we did that pretty well tonight.”
Central would be quick to turn things around over the next six minutes of play – fashioning a 13-4 run of its own to take a one-point lead near the halfway mark of the second quarter.
After staring at a 23-19 deficit at the half, Glendale looked to senior forward Keaira Clancy to turn momentum back into the Lady Falcons' favor. Clancy answered the call admirably – posting six of her team-high 12 points to help turn a four-point halftime hole into a 35-29 edge late in the third.
In addition to her offensive effort, Clancy was instrumental in securing rebounds in the low post throughout the night to give her a well-deserved double-double.
“We have different players that are the leading scorers for each game, and I just felt like this was one of the games where I had to step up and be there for my team,” Clancy said.
Not to be outdone was sophomore Anna Fredrick, who struck from beyond the arc on back-to-back possessions in the third period to fuel the Glendale run.
“That was huge for us,” Temple said of Fredrick's pair of threes. “Anna does a lot of nice things for us on the court. She's a huge decision maker and her knocking those down really gave us a lift that we needed. The timing was crucial for those two.”
Central guard Jaslyn Williams, who put on another strong performance en route to bagging 17 points, cut the Lady Falcon lead to one with just over a minute to go in the game.
Glendale, unable to answer from the field following Williams' bucket, left the door open for Central to pull off a thrilling last-minute victory – but three final opportunities for the Lady Bulldogs to either tie or take the lead fell by the wayside.
“I can't fault my girls' effort,” Central head coach Caitlin Russell said. “Their work ethic was there, but the ball didn't bounce our way tonight. They took care of their offensive end and we didn't take care of the defensive end.”
Glendale next travels to face West Plains on Monday, while Central squares off with Hermitage in the Scoreboard Guy Shootout at Ozark High School on Saturday.
Box Score
Glendale – 12 7 16 12 – 47
Central – 8 15 11 8 – 42
Glendale – Keaira Clancy 12, Gabby Mathews 9, Anna Fredrick 6, Morgan Zimmerman 6, Hannah Pinkston 5, Teaira Clancy 4, Allie Haden 3, Kaitlyn Baird 2
