Moorefield buzzed into the George B. Halterman Memorial Court taking a double digit lead in the second period, but the Lady Vikings rallied in the third period to commandeer a 47-43 victory in Petersburg on Thursday.
“Offensively, I thought we were rushing ourselves a little bit. We needed to take a step back and finish shots a little closer to the basket was one thing. We needed to be a little more aggressive and a little more under control,” Petersburg Coach Jon Webster remarked.
“Once we settled in and got a few free throws to go in for us, the basket seemed to get bigger. We have a deep bench of kids that can go in and have some speed. They play really hard and that spelled to our advantage. They got into some foul trouble, so they were thinner than they usually are and it worked out to our advantage.”
Lindsey Rinker snatched a defensive rebound to start the game and connected with Madison McGregor on a long range jumper to give the Yellow Jackettes (6-6) the initial edge which wasn’t erased until late into the third period.
Rinker stole the ball, but Petersburg’s Reece Hedrick forced a jump ball and the Lady Vikings (4-9) missed two attempts before Rinker made another rebound.
Moorefield’s Nautica Crosco scored in the paint for a 4-0 lead at 6:49, then Emma Baker swiped the ball and the ball was lost out of bounds moments later.
After a Lady Vikings rebound, a walk was called and Moorefield went for a shot and missed with the ball falling out of bounds.
Anna Riggleman stole the ball for the Yellow Jackettes and the ensuing shot drew iron and Riggleman kept the play alive with a rebound, but didn’t connect and Petersburg’s Hayley Ours grabbed the next board.
Petersburg’s Kaylin Arbaugh was fouled and made one free throw at the 5:20 mark.
After a Moorefield walk, Baker made a defensive rebound and passed to Riggleman, who drove inside the perimeter and pulled up for a basket.
The Lady Vikings committed a couple of fouls over the next minute and both sides missed a field goal before Hedrick scored on a jumper at 3:39 for the first made field goal by Petersburg, 6-3.
Rinker netted a putback at the 2:57 mark, then Watts drew a foul and missed both attempts for the Lady Vikings.
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There were a couple turnovers and eight combined missed opportunities over the remainder of the first period, then Crosco scored for the Yellow Jackettes with 13 seconds left as well as drawing a foul and not completing the three point play chance.
Petersburg’s Kayla Lantz knocked down a jumper before the horn sounded, but Moorefield was in control 10-5 at the end of the frame.
Hedrick opened the second period with a steal, but a walk was called and went for another steal before being fouled and failed to hit the free throws.
Baker collected there rebound and passed to Rinker, who drew a foul and made both charity stripe shots.
Crosco stole the ball, but Hedrick deflected the pass out and fouled Baker moments later leading to a missed free throw.
Riggleman stole the ball after a rebound by Jenna Burgess, then Baker passed to McGregor for a jumper.
There was a collision at mid-court with Lantz plowing into McGregor for a charge penalty.
A pass from Rinker went through the hands of McGregor out of bounds on the next possession.
McGregor and Rinker trapped Casey Watts in the paint and the ball was deflected out of bounds.
Baker made a defensive rebound, then passed to Crosco, who was fouled and made one free throw for a double digit lead of 15-5 at the 5:11 mark.
Rinker grabbed the board off the next attempt and passed to McGregor for a basket to extend the advantage.
Ours executed a putback for the Lady Vikings at the 4:35 mark.
After a missed shot and walk for both teams, Watts grabbed a rebound and was fouled, but missed her extra shots.
Riggleman notched one free throw on the next series, then blocked a shot defensively with Gracie O’Neill making the recovery.
The Yellow Jackettes failed to score on the possession with Ours getting the board and drawing a foul.
McGregor stole the ball, but Watts made an interception and the ensuing pass went out of bounds.
Watts snatched a defensive board and was fouled moments later leading to two free throws.
Baker collected an offensive rebound and sank the jumper for a 20-9 lead at the 2:36 mark.
The Lady Vikings closed the first half on a 7-0 run with free throws by Ours, Burgundy Roby (after turnover) and Burgess.
O’Neill swiped the ball, but a walk was called which created a chance for a jumper by Arbaugh for a 20-16 halftime score.
“We got out-hustled. That was the biggest thing, they out-hustled us,” Moorefield Coach Paul Keplinger commented.
“We have nobody to step up and be a leader on the team. When we get double teamed, we hold the ball up above our heads. We’ll not cut, we’ll not move, the ball will be laying on the floor and we’re all standing there watching it roll as everybody else is diving for it from the other team. We have plenty of people. When we get fouled, we need to learn how to play. We played a real good first quarter, then we missed a couple shots and it went back to the same old deal where we hang our heads. You have to go get the ball and make another try.”
Keplinger continued: “Getting out-hustled should never happen, I don’t care how many shots you miss. We gave them two or three opportunities in the fourth quarter and we just stood there under the basket waiting for it to go through and they are standing beside us getting an open layup. They are supposed to do things. They can either come ready to play or I don’t have any other answers. We just got out-hustled.”
Early in the second half, Crosco swatted the ball away and Baker took the ricochet down the court for a basket at 7:23 to give the Yellow Jackettes a 22-16 lead.
McGregor stole the ball and setup Rinker for a field goal in the paint.
Petersburg’s Allison Harman netted a layup plus the harm as Crosco picked up her third foul, but the attempt went awry and off Moorefield out of bounds.
Crosco stole the ball, but failed to score despite Rinker and Baker collecting rebounds for other opportunities.
Watts grabbed rebounds on both ends of the floor, but the Lady Vikings came up empty too and Rinker took the next carom and scored on the next possession for the Yellow Jackettes, 26-18 at 5:45.
The momentum started to shift as Petersburg stepped up the pressure with a steal by Watts leading to one free throw, then Ours swiped the ball and scored.
Moorefield lost the ball out of bounds as Watts applied pressure and the next series yielded two missed free throws.
Watts notched a defensive rebound and Lantz hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 26-23 at 4:25.
In a span of two additional minutes, the Lady Vikings would take the lead for good going up 28-27 at the 2:25 mark.
During that span, the Yellow Jackettes committed four turnovers and missed two field goals.
Harman tied the game at the 3:02 mark off a steal by Ours.
Remington Hinkle added one free throw to regain the Moorefield lead momentarily at 2:45, then Riggleman blocked and stole the ball only to trip as Lantz snatched it back leading to a pair of free throws by Ours for the lead and the third foul on Rinker.
Hinkle made steal, but was called for a walk.
After a foul by Hinkle, Ours knocked down two more free throws.
Watts collected a defensive rebound and passed to Roby, who was fouled by McGregor (second foul, but fans shouted fourth) and both foul shots were accounted for to give Petersburg a 32-27 lead.
Moorefield lost the ball a couple more times over the next minute, but the Lady Vikings only came away with two free throws by Ours.
During a trap by the Lady Vikings, Burgess committed a foul much to the chagrin of the home fans.
Rinker nailed a jumper on the next possession to pull the Yellow Jackettes to within five, 34-29 with 46 seconds left in the third period.
Petersburg turned the ball over on the inbounds pass stepping over the line and back, then Moorefield walked.
A double dribble was called on Ours with Baker closely defending, then the Yellow Jackettes missed a field goal and Ours grabbed the rebound.
Rinker stole the ball in the closing seconds and missed an attempt before the buzzer.
At the start of the fourth period, Hedrick made a save along the baseline after a miss and the pass was intercepted by Baker.
The ensuing attempt by Moorefield was short and Hedrick caught the ball, but the ball was thrown away moments later.
Burgess and Hedrick managed to create a steal together, then Burgess was fouled by Riggleman (fourth) and made one free throw.
Riggleman netted a layup on the next series to amok it 35-31 at 6:57.
Crosco committed her fourth foul on a trap and Burgess added another foul shot.
Ours collected the rebound and passed to Hedrick for a jumper.
Ours stole the ball and passed to Burgess for a basket to extend the Lady Vikings advantage to 40-31 with 6:05 remaining.
McGregor connected on a 3-pointer just ten seconds later for the Yellow Jackettes.
There was a collision and a jump ball called, then Petersburg made a trap with Burgess fouling.
Hedrick grabbed a defensive rebound, but Ours lost the ball out of bounds with Baker defending.
Another foul was called on Petersburg during a trap, then Lantz’s defense caused Crosco to pick up the ball.
Crosco tried to create space on a pivot and drove her head into Lantz causing a charge and fouled out of the game.
Rinker blocked a shot and the Lady Vikings walked, then McGregor drew a foul by Hedrick (fourth) and made both free throws for a 40-36 score with 4:45 to go.
A shot by Lantz was partially blocked by Riggleman, but ricocheted up into the basket for a 43-36 lead at 2:32.
Burgess stole the ball, but Petersburg missed and Ours collected the rebound before it was swiped back by McGregor with Ours fouling.
McGregor hit both free throws for Moorefield.
Rinker went for a block and was called for her fourth foul with Watts adding one free throw at 1:55.
The Yellow Jackettes found the hoop as Rinker made a jumper, trailing 44-40 with 1:39 left.
O’Neill stole the ball and Ours forced a jump ball with Rinker.
Riggleman stole the ball and the next shot missed and Burgess grabbed the board.
Watts collected a second rebound on the following series and added two out shots for a 46-40 edge with 45 seconds remaining.
Moorefield’s next long distance shot went out of bounds.
The Yellow Jackettes fouled and Petersburg missed, then Ours stole the ball and was fouled.
Ours connected on one free throw with 18 seconds left for a 47-40 score.
Watts fumbled the ball off the rebound out of bounds.
Moorefield had another opportunity and RInker drilled a 3-pointer with five seconds left, then called timeout trailing 47-43.
Petersburg held on for the last seconds of the game to seal the 47-43 victory at home.
Petersburg went 11-for-41 from the field, while the Yellow Jackettes were 16-for-48.
Rinker scored a game-high 15 points for Moorefield along with a double-double hauling in 12 rebounds, followed by McGregor with 13 points.
Ours led the Lady Vikings with a double-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds and Watts added ten rebounds and six points.
The Yellow Jackettes visit Pendleton County next Friday and host Trinity Christian on Saturday.
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