Late run lifts Lady Eagles over Lowndes
Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 7, 2006
Fort Dale Academy went on a 14-2 run in the last five minutes of its game with Lowndes Academy to close out a victory to claim its tenth win of the season.
Trailing 25-18 heading into the final five minutes, the Lady Eagles (10-3) put the defensive clamps on the Lady Rebels to squeak out what Fort Dale coach Reggie Mantooth said was one of the ugliest wins he's seen.
“We were flat in the first half, but we did what we needed to so we could pull out a win,” Mantooth said. “Lowndes did an excellent job of taking us out of our game early on.”
The Lady Rebels (5-4) had Fort Dale knocked off their feet after the first period to take a 14-5 lead. But The Lady Eagles managed to battle back by holding Lowndes Academy to just one basket to tie the game at intermission.
Both teams managed just one basket in the third period with Frances Watts scoring with 5:08 left in the period to give the Lady Eagles a two-point advantage.
Lowndes Academy's Chelsie Kilpatrick countered with 24 seconds left to play in the period with a 3-pointer to regain the lead for the Lady Rebels.
Watts later scored six of her game-high 17 points in the final stanza to lead fifth-ranked Fort Dale to another victory.
MaryAnn Hancock chipped in eight points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Kilpatrick led the Lady Rebels with 15.