Heartbreak in Huffman

HUFFMAN- The Anderson-Shiro Lady Owls and Orangefield Lady Bobcats battled for five periods in the 3A Area-Round of the playoffs, but in the end Orangefield came out victorious with a 55-53 win.

Tears filled the eyes of the Lady Owls, as they lost a heartbreaker in Huffman, but through those tears a bright future can still be seen for the Lady Owls. The Lady Owls graduate two seniors Delaney Compean and Reality Molina but return a strong group of underclassmen.

The game was knotted at 53 with 30 seconds remaining in overtime when the Lady Owls pulled down a defensive rebound, but the outlet pass was picked off by Orangefield leading to a go-ahead layup to put the Lady Bobcats up 55-53.

The Lady Owls drove the ball downcourt on the ensuing possession, but Shelbi Belinowski couldn’t convert on a contested layup and the rebound went to Orangefield. The Owls fouled to send the Bobcats to the free-throw line with 3.3 seconds remaining. Both shots were missed and Compean secured the rebound and heaved a pass downcourt, but the Lady Owls were unable to get a shot off before time expired.

“They rose to the occasion and performed,” said Lady Owl Head Coach Randy Foy. The Lady Owls had two players injured before the game and had several underclassmen playing key minutes. “For them to have their first varsity experience coming into this game, that’s commendable.” Foy said some of these girls had never played in a varsity game.

“For them to be able to step up in a game that’s fast paced and up to another level and contribute the way that they did, I think they did a heck of a job, we just ended coming up a little bit short,” said Foy.

The game remained close in the first half, but the Lady Owls didn’t grab their first lead until the 4:47 mark of the second period. Compean nailed a three-pointer to put the Owls on top 13-12. The teams traded leads multiple times in the period before freshman Symber Adams drained a three-pointer with 8 seconds remaining before halftime to give the Lady Owls a 24-22 lead. Adams finished with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Another freshman, Belinowski, extended the Owl lead on the first possession of the third period connecting from behind the arc for a three-pointer giving the Owls a 27-22 lead. The Bobcats took the lead scoring on three consecutive possessions and held a 37-34 lead heading to the final period of regulation. In the final moments of the fourth peri

In the final moments of the fourth period, with the Lady Owls trailing by one, Jacie Isbell converted one of her two free-throw attempts to send the game to overtime with the score 49-49.

Belinowski led the Lady Owls with 14 points, and six rebounds. Compean scored 12 and secured five rebounds. Haley Mason scored seven and grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out seven assists. Jay Matthews dominated the paint with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Isbell finished with three points and seven rebounds.