Through three-plus quarters Friday night, it was apparent that whoever emerged as the toughest between the Bushland Lady Falcons and Canadian Lady Wildcats would maintain at least a share of the District 1-3A lead.
When the going finally got the toughest for the Lady Falcons, it was no surprise that they emerged as the ones still unscathed in district.
In a game where offense was hard to come by, especially in the first half, Bushland came up with it when needed. After No. 23 Canadian tied the game early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Falcons responded by scoring almost half of their total in the final period and emerged with a 41-29 victory.
Bushland (20-7, 3-0 in district) is still in first place in the district after grinding out a win which wasn’t necessarily pretty but which nonetheless got the job done.
“It was so fun,” said Bushland coach Sarah Allen, more in reference to the final result than anything. “Props to Canadian who is so tough. It’s so fun to be able to play good defense and get some stops and get the momentum and keep it. I’m very proud of the girls for finishing.”
Canadian (17-9, 2-1) led only once and that was at the very beginning, when Sage Saenz opened the scoring with a 3-point shot for a 3-0 lead. Those were the only points for the Lady Wildcats in the first quarter though, as Bushland would take the lead and score the next 11 points carrying into the second quarter.
Neither team exactly tore it up offensively most of the evening, particularly in the first half. Bushland led 15-7 at halftime.
The Lady Wildcats opened the second half strong and holding a 22-9 lead, it looked large enough to take to the house in a game where a total of only nine players scored. But Canadian’s offense, or more specifically, Kylie Cavalier, woke up,
Cavalier scored seven straight points to start the run, then just before the end of the quarter, Kaylee Richardson hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 22-19. Canadian’s Kimora Morales then opened the fourth quarter with a three to tie it at 22, and a hair-raising finish looked imminent.
However, Bushland immediately answered with a three which gave the Lady Falcons the lead back for good, then Berklee Billington scored seven straight points to boost it to 32-22, pretty much putting the game away for Bushland.
“That’s what makes us special is that we do have Berklee Billington but we do also have several other scorers,” Allen said. “They really had to take turns tonight because (Canadian) did a good job face-guarding Berklee, but she shines when she shines and she decided to get some stuff in transition.”
What also made a difference was that the Lady Falcons were accurate from the free throw line when it most mattered. They made 11-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, including 10 straight to open the period.
“We had struggled with free throws in the first two district games so we shot free throws like crazy the last two days in practice,” Allen said. “I said don’t just shoot them to be shooting them, you have to think you’re playing Canadian in the fourth.”
Charley Freeman scored 11 points for Bushland. Cavalier led Canadian with nine.