Mt. Vernon mounts come back to defeat Ava in sectional round

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By PJ Maigi – CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PHOTO GALLERY OF THE GAME

Mt. Vernon overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to beat host Ava 53-49 and advance to the Class 4 state quarterfinals. The Lady Mountaineers had been eliminated in this round each of the past four seasons.
Ava came out strong against Class 4 No. 4 Mt. Vernon scoring 19 points in the first quarter to Mt. Vernon’s 17. The Lady Bears outscored Mt. Vernon 14-9 in the second quarter to claim a 33-26 lead at the half.
Mt. Vernon came out of the break on a mission by outscoring Ava 17-7 to take a 43-40 lead into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was close throughout. Ava took a 47-45 lead with 3:20 left in the game. Then Big 8 East Player of the Year Lacy Stokes took over. Stokes scored back-to-back buckets to give Mt. Vernon a 49-47 lead. When Ava tied the game at 49, Stokes answered again with another bucket to put Mt. Vernon up 51-49 with nine seconds left. Two Mt. Vernon free throws late would give the Lady Mountaineers their winning margin of 53-49.
Lacy Stokes scored a game-high 28 points for the Lady Mountaineers.
Ava was led by Sara Mendel’s 14 points. Olivia Gastineau (13) and Hannah Evans (10) also scored in double figures for Ava.
Mt. Vernon (26-3) will host Blair Oaks (17-10) on Saturday at 1 pm in the state quarterfinals.

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