LE ROY In Thursday nights match, Crest senior Rylee Beckmon absorbed the contact, and converted from the inside to hand Crest the one-point lead over Southern Coffey County with 32.1 seconds remaining. Beckmons bucket was the final push needed to put Crest over the Lady Titans, 46-45.
Starting with a win over a quality team like SCC was an early Christmas gift for Lady Lancer head coach Megan Mason.
SCC Coach Jeff True is amazing. Last year we lost to them by one point, Mason said. This is my first win over them, and it means a lot to our team. It puts us in a better place going into Humboldt that we can compete even though we are a young team.
Trailing in the early stages, the Lady Lancers closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. Bryli Copeland kept the Lady Titans afloat in the second period, scoring nine of her 13 points in the quarter, including a long-range effort to tie the game at 22-22.
Crest outscored SCC 11-6 to close the quarter, including back-to-back threes from Lindsey Godderz and Aubree Hollaran to make the score 33-28 heading into the break. The Lady Lancers shot well from beyond the arc converting 6-16 for 37.5%.
They shot the ball really well, and we didnt do a good job of guarding those girls, True said. We went to a box-and-one defensively in the second half, and it was something we really hadnt worked on. We played it last year, but we played quite a bit of freshmen today. It is just going to take time for them to understand exactly what we want to do.
Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter, scoring only three points apiece. A free throw by Reed Szambecki and a strong finish in the paint by Kyra Ohl provided the SCC scoring in the third, but Crest remained in front 36-31 heading into the final period.
Szambecki gave SCC its first lead since the first quarter with another strong finish in the paint, and a free throw minutes later to put the Lady Titans up 40-38 with less than five minutes to go. Hollaran converted both free throws to tie things at 40-40, but Copeland responded with a 3-pointer to give SCC the three-point edge.
Not going away quietly, Godderz poured in her third long-range bomb to tie the game at 43-43. SCC responded with a quick basket by Ohl to take the two-point lead.
After missing two free throws to take the lead with 52 seconds on the clock, Beckmon weaved through the left side of the lane, converting the layup to give Crest the 46-45 opening day win.
After we got into the locker she (Beckmon) apologized for her free throws, Mason said. But I told her you did what you had to when we needed you to.
Beckmon finished as Crests second-leading scorer with 14 points. Godderz and Hollaran led the Lady Lancers with 15 points each.
For the Lady Titans, Szambecki finished with a team high 14 points followed by Copelands 13 and Ohl with nine.
MORE THAN JUST A GAME
After the games conclusion, a raffle was held to raise money for the honor flight to Washington D.C. The honor flights allow veterans the opportunity to visit war memorials that honor their military service.
True organizes a two-day trip to the U.S. capitol where 24 veterans are paired with high school students to tour the sites. Every two years, the Neosho Lodge organizes the fundraising event, and this year reached a record $83,000.
It is an amazing trip, True said. Its the most worthwhile thing I have done professionally in my life.
