COLONY — Through a relentless defense effort, the Crest Lady Lancers held Jayhawk-Linn to 11 points in the first half, and earned a 35-26 victory during senior night on Thursday evening.
“We were just trying to make sure they couldn’t shoot outside shots, or get it to their bigs down low,” Crest head coach Megan Mason said. “Our 32 zone has been working for us. So it was a big thing for us because I knew they could attack from the outside and down low.”
Two transition baskets from Anna Hermreck and Aubree Holloran helped the Lancers get off to a 4-0 start. After the Jayhawks battled back, Holloran answered with a 3-pointer, and Lindsey Godderz connected from just inside the line in front of the Jayhawk’s bench to give Crest an 11-6 lead.
Godderz nearly beat the first-quarter buzzer with a corner trey, but her attempt rimmed out, and the Lady Lacers maintained their five-point lead into the second.
The Lady Lancers continued to grow their lead in the second. A nifty reverse lay-up from Rylie Beckmon, followed by a deuce from Hermreck underneath gave Crest a double-digit lead at 21-11. McKenna Hammond came off the bench to knock down a jumper from the elbow, that beat the buzzer to send Crest into the locker room with a 23-11 lead.
While Crest could have put the game to bed in the third, it didn’t. The Lady Lancers scored only three points in the period, but the Jayhawks failed to fare much better, scoring only four. Still, what could have grown into a big lead, stood at single digits entering the fourth.
“It was disappointing because I know we could have done a lot better,” Mason said. “I told the girls ‘you know if we lose, it’s going to be because we let them win.’”
Jayhawk-Linn cut the Lady Lancer lead down to six with 6:45 remaining, forcing Mason to take a timeout. Out of the huddle, Godderz got the jumper to go, giving Crest a 28-20 lead with six minutes remaining.
“Lindsey Godderz has been coming out of her shell recently. She’s been going after it,” Mason said.
Less than two minutes later, Crest recaptured its double-digit lead with a fast break orchestrated by Beckmon, who went coast-to-coast, dribbling past defenders and slipping it into Holloran for the easy deuce. Although Thursday’s performance may not have been Beckmon’s finest of the season, Mason spoke highly of the senior’s work rate.
“It is going to be tough without her next year,” Mason said. “She was off tonight, because she is not feeling the best, but you know she still stuck it out. Some people may have caved in, but she really stuck with us tonight.”
The 35-26 win means the Lady Lancers end the season at 10-10. Crest will host Oswego in its first Regional match of the postseason. Last time around, the Lady Lancers edged the Indians by one on Valentine’s Day. Mason is optimistic that the Lady Lancers can keep their season alive.
“I just hope we play them as well as we did against them in the regular season,” Mason said. “We just have to be tough inside boxing out, and not let them have putbacks like we allowed tonight.”
BOX SCORE
Crest (11-12-3-9—35) (pts): Beckmon 9, Holloran 9, Hammond 4, Godderz 7, Hermreck 8.
Jayhawk-Linn (6-5-4-11—26) (pts): E. Nation 8, Holt 4, Umpenour 2, Dawson 4, Brownback 4, A. Nation 4.
