Dazed and confused is the only way you could describe the Keene Lady Chargers three minutes into last Tuesday nights game at Krum. The 18th-ranked Lady Chargers (9–1) we’re not only trailing 0-8, but had turn the ball over three times and had two lay-ups blocked by the 6 foot senior 14 Robinson from the Krum Lady Cats. When junior point guard Gracie Stephens converted on the backend of her two shot free throw, the drought was ended but KLC was still trailing 1-8 and had no answers. Having not seen the strength combined with length that the Ladies from Krum we’re able to bring, KLC struggled to find their rhythm. Fortunately, the Lady cats were only able to stretch the first quarter lead to 10 and KLC was able to hang around 7-17 at the end of one.
The second quarter began eerily similar to the first. The Lady Chargers continued to struggle with the Lady Cats, unable to keep them off the boards or their hands off the ball. As a result, with three minutes left in the half, KLC appeared to be on the verge of a blowout loss, trailing 13 to 27. However, not only do the Lady Chargers have a seasoned team, 9 of the 12 players being juniors, they also have what some refer to simply as a ball coach. It was at this time that Coach McFarlin took a time-out and, in what seemingly looked like a last ditch effort, switched the Lady Chargers into full-court pressure. While nothing in the first 13 minutes would have lead one to believe that this would have much success, suddenly there was new life in the Ladies from Keene. Krum, who just 60 seconds before had been faster, stronger, and longer than KLC could handle, suddenly slowed down. A touched ball here and a deflected pass there, combined with a will to punish Krum physically for coming through the lane, suddenly had a surprised Krum on their heels and struggling offensively. When junior forward Brooke Hinerman(20 pts, 3-4 from three) hit her second three pointer of the quarter, the 13-27 deficit was cut to 10. After Krum answered with a layup with :12 left, to extend the lead back to 12, Stephens found junior Hannah Thomas(15 pts) on the wing. Her second three pointer of the 2nd quarter bounced high off the side iron as the buzzer sounded, but the ball, as if on command, caressed off the top of the backboard before falling gently through the net, cutting the lead to 24-33. Charger fans who had witnessed the first 13 minutes, were in mild shock to see only a nine point deficit as the ladies jogged into the locker room. What was about to be a 20 point deficit and a difficult ride back down a congested Interstate 35, suddenly had the possibility of being a competitive ball game. The question was who would come out of the locker room. Was the last three minutes a calm in the storm, or could the team that had ran off 8 straight wins to start the year continue to close the gap like they had in the last minute of the half? As would soon be evident, Coach McFarlin’s squad would be prepared mentally for what turned out to be a gut check of a third quarter.
Second half comeback
Krum, just recently off a deep run in the volleyball playoffs, had according to Coach McFarlin afterwards, “hit us in the mouth” at the beginning of the game. It was now up to KLC to see if they could get up off the mat and fight back. Twice in a row, the Lady Chargers fed the ball to junior post Joy Konou who, although giving away tremendous height to Krum, spun to the right for back to back baskets to cut the lead to 28-33. Controlling the tempo of the game now, Stephens found a wide open Brooke Hinerman in the corner. Instead of another three, Hinerman pumped and went baseline, floating a jumper over the outstretched Lady Cat’s hand to bring the Chargers within three. A bucket by Krum’s Marquez stopped the run but another three pointer by Thomas, her 4th, and a deep three by Hinerman, her 3rd, and the Lady Chargers had taken the lead, 40-35. A late bucket by Krum’s senior star, 14 Robinson, brought the Lady Cats to within three at 40-37 as the 3rd quarter expired.
Many times, after a furious comeback, a team that weathers the storm, now playing a team that has exhausted themselves catching up, are able to pull back ahead and win. After KLC’s 16-4 run in the third, they were ripe for a letdown. As if on cue, Krum scored five unanswered; a jumper, a free throw, and a second chance put back to push them back ahead 40-43 with just under 5:00 left in the game. Soon thereafter Stephens picked up two quick fouls and had to go to the bench with four. It’s in these moments that a team’s resolve is put to the test. You’ve given all you have and your opponent has taken it and survived. You’re tired and your leader is on the bench. Good teams lose with dignity but great teams have a tendency of people stepping up and taking up the slack. Enter junior back-up point guard Keene Alik and senior Cammie Fautheree, Alik, who had played aggressive defensively all game, found Fautheree in the corner and with a defender running at her, lofts a high jumper towards the goal. In what seemed like an eternity, her ball barely grazed the net as she regained the lead 43-42, igniting a bench that was on their feet as McFarlin quickly called a timeout. The next 4 minutes consisted of physical defense and another Hinerman steal and layup. As the clock ticked away, holding onto a tight 47-44 lead, junior guard Missie Kilo, Stephens, and Hinerman executed the stall game to near perfection. A turnover on the inbounds with :06 left gave Krum a desperation attempt to tie, but as the ball bounced off the rim and to the floor, the Keene Lady Chargers had prevailed.
After the game, Krum’s coach said that KLC was the most physical team they had played in along time, but to quote a fan in the stands, “no matter who won, both teams knew they had played someone tonight!”
KLC ranked 21 in the state will be in action this Thursday-Saturday in Lipan, taking on a fast Timpson team at 2:20 and Baird at 5:00.