Late 3rd quarter stops Lady Knights’ title chances

With a 6-point lead to play with and the clock ticking on the down

side of a minute to play, Grundy County’s girls could afford to

trade 3-pointers for free throws against North Daviess Thursday

night. No. 3 seeded North Daviess took #2 Grundy to the wire in the

third meeting of the season between the 2 teams but the outcome

remained the same as Grundy advanced to the district championship

game with a 68-64 win.

The game ended where it began as both teams battled to a 21-21 tie

in the 1st quarter and spilt scoring, 21-21, in the 4th. In

between, Grundy County played catchup basketball before making the

most of a golden opportunity in the final minute of the 3rd

quarter.

The Lady Knights led, 43-42, when they turned the ball over on 3

straight possessions in the final 25 seconds of the period. The

Lady Panthers capitalized with a pair of Bridgette Berry layups and

a free throw and grabbed a 47-43 advantage. Grundy never gave up

the initiative, despite a pair of Mandy Williams 3-pointers in the

closing moments. Ashley Berry, who just came off the foul line

after hitting a pair of throws, dumped in 2 more with 7/10 of a

second showing on the clock, the game was over.

North Daviess failed to make the most of its chances at the charity

stripe down the stretch. The Lady Knights were 8 of 18 from the

foul line in the 4th period after making 2 of 4 attempts up until

that time.

Darcie Iddings, who scored 12 points in the 2nd period and later

tip-toed around serious foul troubles, paced North Daviess with 25

points. Lindsay Hunter, who worked wonders on the boards for her

team, got the Lady Knights jump-started by contributing 13 of her

21 points in the opening quarter.

Ashley Berry led all scorers with 29 points, including 10 down the

stretch. Bridgette Berry’s 25 points for the Lady Panthers included

3 1st half treys and 5 dueces in the 3rd quarter.

North Daviess wrapped up one of the school’s best ever girls

seasons with a 19-8 record.