LeBlond’s Lady Eagles made up a nine-point deficit with three minutes to play in regulation, then outscored Gallatin 9-4 in overtime to capture a non-conference victory Tuesday night in the final regular season home game of the season.
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Gallatin led, 39-30, when reserve freshman Echo Hellerich nailed three-pointers on back-to-back LB possessions to cut the gap to three points. Trisha Sprague hit both ends of a double shot bonus to put the Lady Bulldogs up, 41-36. Missed free throw opportunities by both teams kept the outcome in doubt as the fourth quarter clock ticked down.
Both teams were just as evenly matched through three quarters. Gallatin jumped out to a 10-4 start but LeBlond made up the difference with the first shot of the second quarter. The lead changed hands five times in the third quarter before Kinsey Batson gave the Lady Bulldogs a 27-26 advantage with a shot off a strong move down the left side of the lane.
Gallatin appeared to have the game in hand after Cassie Carder kissed a shot off the glass and Lindsey Robertson split the net with a long three-pointer with 3:12 left to play. LeBlond weathered a six-minute scoring drought from the end of the third period into the fourth, and grabbed the momentum with Hellerich’s long-range bombs.
Sprague finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Carder added eight points and Batson chipped in seven off the bench.
The Lady Bulldogs take their 13-11 record to Lathrop Friday night for the regular season finale. The #3 seeded GHS girls take on #6 Rock Port in district play at 6:30 p.m. Monday at GHS.
The Lady Bulldogs closed out the Grand River Conference portion of their schedule last Friday night with a 52-35 loss to the Stanberry Lady Bulldogs. As has happened more than once this season, the Lady Bulldogs could not overcome a scoring drought in the middle stage of the game.
Stanberry led, 15-11, at the close of the first quarter, but ripped off 11 of the game’s next 12 points to lead, 25-12, at half.
No GHS player finished in double figures. Emily Gay led with eight points. Lindsey Robertson tossed in a pair of treys and finished with seven. Brittney Hixson totaled six points and Cassie Carder added five for Gallatin, which finished 4-4 in league play.