FORT SCOTT — An unsuccessful road trip for the Girard High School basketball teams saw the Trojans drop two games to Fort Scott, as the girls lost 53-51 and the boys 58-50.
TIGERS EDGE LADY TROJANS
Missed opportunities for the Lady Trojans down the stretch of a close contest led to a two-point loss and the four-game winning streak getting broken.
Following a free throw by the Tigers to push the lead to two, Girard quickly pushed the ball up the floor with nine seconds remaining a put up a 3-pointer to take the lead, but couldn’t get it to go.
“We missed some key free throws,” GHS head coach Brad Herlocker said. “We had a chance to close the door, but we ran a couple plays that didn’t go the way I wanted. I tell the girls to run the play called even if it’s not the best play at that time because I want every loss to be my fault. The effort was amazing and we’ve made some improvements, but at the end, we have to let this go.”
After five lead changes in the opening minutes, Sydnee Crain led the Lady Trojans to an 11-9 lead with six points in the first quarter.
Fort Scott rallied to take the lead in the second quarter and continued to go back and forth with the Trojans, as the lead changed hands 10 times throughout the contest.
The Tigers closed out the win at the free throw line, knocking down a shot in the final minute of regulation and forcing a miss on the other end to get the win.
Crain was the offensive catalyst for the Trojans, scoring a team-high 23 points.
“My players fought hard,” Herlocker said. “Fort Scott has a nice team. WE had our chances to win the game, but I feel like we improved even in the loss.”
FORT SCOTT BOYS COMPLETE SWEEP
The Fort Scott boys’ team completed the sweep over Girard with a 58-50 win in the final game of the night.
“I give credit to Fort Scott, they put up a good fight against us,” GHS’ head coach Rod Wescott said. “But, there are some improvements we can make. We could’ve done a better job of execution on offense and used better rotation on defense. I am proud of the boys for playing hard.”
The Trojans jumped out to an early four-point advantage, but fell behind 13-11 at the end of the first quarter on the strength of nine consecutive points for the Tigers.
Caleb Muia gave Girard a two-point lead with a pair of buckets early in the second quarter, which held until halftime on the strength of points from Ryder Worrell and Carter Doherty.
Neither team was able to pull away in the second half, but the Tigers had the last swing in momentum at the end, scoring 22 points in the fourth to earn the win.
UP NEXT
Girard will host Frontenac at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.