One team was going to walk off the floor with its 11th win of the season to open the Mid-Mississippi Challenge on Saturday morning.
When it came to the matchup between the East Webster Lady Wolverines and Philadelphia Lady Tornadoes, neither defense was in any mood to budge.
The game was not decided until the fourth quarter when Philadelphia worked a 9-5 edge to take a 38-32 win at Cobb Gymnasium.
In the final 8 minutes, the Lady Tornadoes did not have a field goal, but all they needed was points off the free-throw line.
“The difference in the game was free throws,” East Webster coach Michael Seger said. “We shot 42 percent and they shot right at 70 percent. Make our free throws and we win the ball game, but I thought we competed, played hard and we’ve got a lot of young girls. We moved a couple of eighth graders up and got some young girls in the game.
“At this point, everything is to prepare you for district and playoffs. Playing that level of opponent is going to get us ready for big district game the next two weeks.”
The Lady Wolverines held the lead twice in the game. They went up 6-3 with 4.55 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-point field goal by Jaden Johnson.
At the 5-minute mark of the second quarter, East Webster had a 15-13 advantage after a basket by Kadasha Bryant.
Bryant had another field goal in the third quarter, but it was one of only two for the Lady Wolverines in the entire second half.
“They did a good job defensively,” Seger said of Philadelphia. “Normally, we like to play a little faster, but by design, we intentionally tried to keep the tempo slow to see if there was something we could use going forward. It’s a learning experience, something we will build off of and it will be good for us in the long run.”
Mary Todd Brown was the only East Webster player to score in double digits with 11 points. Bryant was next in line with six points.
Even though the points did not come frequently for his squad, Seger was pleased with the effort it gave against a quality opponent that he believes is favored to win Class 2A Region 4.
“We thought it was great to have that level of competition,” Seger said. “I was proud of our girls for not backing down, especially when a couple of our regular starters came off the bench (Saturday). I was proud of the fact we didn’t shy away.”
The Lady Wolverines now have a 10-8 record.
Boy's Game
East Webster 69, Booneville 65
Player of the Game Charlie Brand hit six free throws in the final minute to clinch the victory for the Wolverines.
East Webster took a 17-14 lead after the first quarter, then stretched the margin to 37-31 by halftime.
After taking as much as a 56-43 advantage following three quarters of play, Booneville cut the difference to two points at 65-63 with 1:30 remaining in the game.
Booneville did not get any closer.
Brand led the Wolverines with 25 points, while Art Thompson added 16 points. Carrin Townsend and Isaac Patterson chipped in 10 points each.
With the victory, East Webster improved its record to 14-3.