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One more stop here, another defensive rebound there and Nodaway-Holt might have been able to position itself for a signature road win over 275 nemesis Mound City Friday night.
At the most pivotal moments, when the Lady Trojans were nipping at their heels, the veteran Panthers remained calm, made the plays they needed to at the offensive end and eventually shook free in the fourth quarter for a 68-58 win that created a first place tie atop the conference standings.
Nodaway-Holt (14-5) kept in constant pursuit of Mound City after an early six-point lead frittered into a 10-point second quarter deficit, but the Panthers answered every Trojan run with one of their own.
When the Trojans got it down to two in the third quarter, Mound City scored the next five for a seven-point lead.
After the Trojans trimmed that deficit down to one near the end of the third quarter and at the start of the fourth, Mound City scored the next time down.
The Panthers had separate seven and nine-point bursts in the fourth quarter that helped them put the game out of reach.
Nodaway-Holt, which scored the game’s first six points, never led again after the opening basket of the second quarter.
“It’s just kind of natural in a competitive game that somebody goes on a run,” said Nodaway-Holt head coach David Carroll. “Then somebody else goes on a run. There was a lot of that that went on during the game. They got a lead. They’d stretch it out to eight or 10. We’d come back and cut it to a couple. That’s just kind of how it was.”
Offense wasn't the problem for the Trojans who scored at least 11 points in every quarter and shot 50 percent from the field.
They just didn’t get enough stops.
Mound City scored 21 second quarter points on 8-14 shooting, 15 in the third on 7-13 shooting and 20 in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The Trojans created more missed shots in the fourth, but couldn't close possessions with defensive rebounds.
Mound City scored its first five points and nine of its first 15 in the fourth on second chance opportunities.
“What really hurt us was giving up those second and third shots,” said Carroll. “We’d play really good defense and stop them on that first shot then they’d get in there and get the rebound on us. That was frustrating for us.”
One more stop here, another defensive rebound there and Nodaway-Holt might have been able to position itself for a signature road win over 275 nemesis Mound City Friday night.
At the most pivotal moments, when the Lady Trojans were nipping at their heels, the veteran Panthers remained calm, made the plays they needed to at the offensive end and eventually shook free in the fourth quarter for a 68-58 win that created a first place tie atop the conference standings.
Nodaway-Holt (14-5) kept in constant pursuit of Mound City after an early six-point lead frittered into a 10-point second quarter deficit, but the Panthers answered every Trojan run with one of their own.
When the Trojans got it down to two in the third quarter, Mound City scored the next five for a seven-point lead.
After the Trojans trimmed that deficit down to one near the end of the third quarter and at the start of the fourth, Mound City scored the next time down.
The Panthers had separate seven and nine-point bursts in the fourth quarter that helped them put the game out of reach.
Nodaway-Holt, which scored the game’s first six points, never led again after the opening basket of the second quarter.
“It’s just kind of natural in a competitive game that somebody goes on a run,” said Nodaway-Holt head coach David Carroll. “Then somebody else goes on a run. There was a lot of that that went on during the game. They got a lead. They’d stretch it out to eight or 10. We’d come back and cut it to a couple. That’s just kind of how it was.”
Offense wasn't the problem for the Trojans who scored at least 11 points in every quarter and shot 50 percent from the field.
They just didn’t get enough stops.
Mound City scored 21 second quarter points on 8-14 shooting, 15 in the third on 7-13 shooting and 20 in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The Trojans created more missed shots in the fourth, but couldn't close possessions with defensive rebounds.
Mound City scored its first five points and nine of its first 15 in the fourth on second chance opportunities.
“What really hurt us was giving up those second and third shots,” said Carroll. “We’d play really good defense and stop them on that first shot then they’d get in there and get the rebound on us. That was frustrating for us.”
Putbacks by Haylee Clifton and Jessica Kronenwett began a 7-0 run in the fourth that elevated Mound City's lead to 55-47.
After the Trojans pulled within five on a bank shot by Krysta Beattie, the Panthers ran off nine straight to build their biggest lead, 68-54.
The final margin was one point off of Mound City's 65-54 win over the Trojans in the finals of the Mound City Tournament back in early December.
"A lot of their girls have played at least three years, if not four years, so they got a lot more experience," said Carroll. "I was very proud of our girls. They played hard."
Mound City ended up with four players in double-figures and nearly a fifth.
Junior forward Alex Phillips was the biggest thorn in Nodaway-Holt's side, finishing with 22 points. She had seven straight to open the second quarter which pulled the Panthers in front.
"She plays well every time she plays us," said Carroll.
The senior trio of Tori Ingram (14 points), Abby Haer (11 points) and Whisper Parrish (10 points) all scored in double-figures as well.
Clifton, a junior guard, added nine.
"They got five girls that can score," said Carroll. "That makes it real tough."
Nodaway-Holt's offense was much less diversified with all but nine points consolidated among sophomore guard Megan Rosenbohm (30 points) and Beattie who had a season-high 19.
They combined to make 20 of the team's 22 field goals.
Rosenbohm recorded her sixth 30 point game of the season on 13-21 shooting. She was 11-14 from inside the three-point arc, converting almost all of her transition opportunities.
Rosenbohm also had 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Beattie beat her old season-high of 17 set the night before against Northeast Nodaway. She also pulled down six rebounds.
"They had outstanding games," said Carroll. "Krysta was getting squared up and shooting the ball well. She was finding the open shot. Megan had another outstanding game. They both played excellent."
Rosenbohm and Beattie keyed Nodaway-Holt's fast start that produced an 8-2 lead in the opening three minutes.
The Trojans twice led by seven in the first quarter before Mound City got going offensively and closed within two, 14-12.
Phillips began the second quarter with a three, a driving layup and a turnaround to put the Panthers up 19-14.
Ingram scored six of Mound City's next eight points to help the Panthers build a 27-17 lead.
The Panthers hit their first five shots of the second quarter and scored on seven of their first nine possessions.
"They're quick and they set some really good screens," said Beattie. "We just couldn't switch."
The Trojans would close within four, but a bank shot by Parrish and two free throws by Ingram sent Mound City to the half with a 33-25 lead. Nodaway-Holt scored the first six points of the second half and eight of the first 10 to make it a two-point game twice.
After each instance, the Panthers scored, preventing Nodaway-Holt from ever having the ball with a chance to tie or go ahead.
Another six-point run by the Trojans brought them within one at 46-45.
Phillips closed the quarter with a spinning jumper over Rosenbohm to make it 48-45.
The Trojans never got over the hump in the fourth.
"It was really frustrating," said Beattie. "But we kept pushing. We didn't stop or slow down. We kept going."
Nodaway-Holt, which is now tied with Mound City atop the conference, has three more league games remaining against CFX, West Nodaway and South Holt. The Trojans play St. Joseph Christian Tuesday.
