Lady Tigers take fourth at Carl Junction Classic tournament

The Nevada Lady Tigers finished out their trip to the Carl Junction Classic in the third place game against the Lady Indians of Seneca, Saturday afternoon.

Going into the contest, everyone involved expected a close, evenly matched game, and both teams delivered. Both teams showed strong defensive pressure early, but even better shooting by the Lady Indians allowed them to overcome Nevada's full court diamond press defense and pull out to an early lead -- as much as six points in the first quarter.

Nevada got into a bit of foul trouble early in the game as Tiffani Long found herself with three fouls before the end of the first period. By the time the buzzer sounded and a low-scoring first quarter came to a close, Seneca held a 5-point, 10-5 lead.

The solid defense exhibited by both sides in the opening period continued through the rest of the half and Nevada was able to mount a bit of a comeback through the second period. Early in the period, Nevada switched from its diamond press defense into a 2-3 zone that created some obvious confusion for the Seneca offense.

"We had to adjust after the first quarter," head coach Brent Bartlett said. "Our defense came out and did a good job."

As the final buzzer sounded to end the half, Nevada found themselves well within striking distance, only down by three at 23-20. Both teams shot fairly well from the free-throw line in the first half, as Seneca went 5-for-8, while Nevada was able to manage a slightly better total, at 7-for-9.

Both teams exhibited strong rebounding in the third period and Nevada's intense defense was finally able to lift the Lady Tigers into the lead at 28-27 with 3:17 to go. Seneca's poor ball control in the period allowed Nevada to work their way to a 6-point, 35-29 lead at the buzzer, but the Lady Tigers were unable to hold on.

Seneca's offense picked up quickly in the fourth, outscoring Nevada 16-8 to steal the victory. The Lady Tigers got into some foul trouble late in the game as Jordan Bell fouled out with 2:24 to go and the Lady Indians took the game by a final score of 47-43.

Nevada shot just 5-for-11 from the free-throw line in the second half and Seneca took advantage of eight free throws of their own to catapult them to a third place finish in the tournament. The offensive effort for the Lady Tigers was led in the game by Allie Irwin with 10 points while the Lady Indians had three players in double figures. Jordanne Wright finished the contest with 15 points, followed by Erin Esposito and Jacci Yust with 10 points each.

After the game, an obviously disappointed Bartlett said, "It's disappointing because I thought we had the game won, but let it slip away. In the fourth quarter with the lead, you have to play tough. I don't know if we were tired or what the deal was."

The Lady Tigers simply didn't play smart basketball late in the second half, Bartlett said. Multiple reach in fouls were the thorn in Nevada's side that ultimately cost them the game, he said.

With the loss, Nevada's record falls to 1-2 on the season and they take home a fourth place finish in the tournament.

In other action on the day, the varsity boys were defeated by Monett in the seventh place game of the Carthage Invitational by a final score of 63-41.

Around the rest of the Carl Junction Classic, the Lady Patriots of East Newton took seventh place, defeating Carl Junction 47-32 and Carthage defeated Webb City to take the tournament championship by a final score of 57-49.