By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, February 12, 2009
Trailing by 12 points late in the third quarter Friday night at Bellevue, the Slidell High School girls' basketball team mounted a run that kept their playoff hopes alive for four more days. They held the Eagles to just four fourth-quarter points to rally for a 35-29 victory.
Slidell, which had no offensive pulse in the first half, saved its best for last. The locals trailed 22-10 with four minutes left in the third quarter before pulling off the unthinkable.
Freshman Sarah Davis buried a three-pointer on a pass from Allie Staub to pump some life into the Lady Greyhound offense. The defense clamped down on Bellevue and that helped make things easier offensively the rest of the night.
Katy Stephens, Staub and Davis helped outscore the Eagles 25-7 in the last 12 minutes of the game to take the lead and the win.
"We really pulled one out tonight," said SHS coach Cody Vanover. "The basket finally opened up a little bit after Sarah hit that basket."
The win allowed Slidell to hold on to fourth place in District 17-1A at 9-4 in league play and 12-16 for the year. With one game left to play on Tuesday, Slidell must beat Prairie Valley and district-leader Saint Jo must beat second-place Midway to force a three-way tie for the third and final playoff spot.
Bellevue struggled to get much going against a stubborn Slidell defense in the first half. However, the hosts did just enough to stay in front of a cold-shooting pack of Lady Greyhounds.
The Eagles held Slidell to just one basket in the first quarter to take a 6-2 lead. They also made the most of the second quarter by scoring seven of the 11 points to take a 13-6 halftime lead.
The first four minutes of the third quarter was all Bellevue as it opened with a 9-4 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 22-10.
With their playoffs hopes fading, the Lady Greyhounds answered with authority with the game-changing rally.
Staub, a sophomore, was the leading scorer for the night with 13 points, one more than Davis at 12.
The freshman made seven of 10 shots from the free-throw line to seal the deal. Stephens, also a freshman, finished with eight points while sophomore Chanel Brewer added two.
"We were fortunate to escape with a win," Vanover said. "The season all comes down to Tuesday night now, our last game of district."
