Melba steals playoff berth from New Plymouth
Lady Pilgrims get one last shot at making state tournament
Friday, February 13, 2009 9:17 AM PST
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| Scott ford | argus Observer
Lady Pilgrim Sienna Edmunson splits two Melba defender on her way to the hoop Thursday in the 2A District III playoff game. New Plymouth lost 66-55 to Melba. |
Scott Ford
Argus Observer
New Plymouth—In a game to decide the second team from the Western Idaho Conference to make the state tournament, the New Plymouth Lady ’Grims hosted the Melba Lady Mustangs Thursday in New Plymouth.
A lack of defense and a tough night shooting did the New Plymouth girls basketball team in, as the Mustangs galloped to a 66-55 win.
“This is high school girls basketball, and, if you let them score 66 points, they are going to win,” New Plymouth head coach Denise Oliver said. “We did not guard, we didn’t box out and they (Melba) deserve to win.”
The game began with Melba going on a 10-3 run which ate up the first four and a half minutes of the first quarter, but New Plymouth finished the opening stanza with an 8-5 run to get within four to start the second quarter, trailing 15-11.
The Lady Pilgrims continued their run into the second quarter, and, at the 5:24 mark, New Plymouth found themselves in front 16-15, following a three-point bucket by Lauren Burnside. Lauren Arnzen extended the Lady Pilgrims lead to 18-15 with a two-point twine tickler, and Melba head coach Larry Lincoln saw enough and called for a timeout.
The message from Lincoln must have hit home, because the Mustangs hit the floor and went on a 13-0 run for a 28-18 lead with 1:36 remaining in the opening half of play.
Oliver called for a timeout of her own, but the results were not the same that Melba had. New Plymouth could only muster two more points to close out the half, while Melba added seven to the board for a halftime lead of 35-20.
New Plymouth hit the hardwood in the second half with a mission and scored 19 third-quarter points but allowed Melba to stay close with 15 points.
Both teams added 16 to the scoreboard in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
New Plymouth turned the ball over 15 times in the loss. Sienna Edmunson led the Lady Pilgrims with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Burnside added 18 points and nine boards.
Melba had four players log double-digits, with Katie Brinkerhoff and Logan Stirm each scoring 15 points, Michelle Kirkness added 14 and Dusty Krivanec logged 10.
New Plymouth will now travel to Grangeville to compete in a play-in game against Kamiah at 1 p.m. Saturday.
A win, and New Plymouth advance to state as the third team from the WIC, joining Parma and Melba. A loss, and its season is over.
The question now is, can New Plymouth put two heart-breaking losses behind them and get the job done Saturday?
“I told them, they are the most fortunate team in the league,” Oliver said. “To lose two games in a row, and then win just one, and still have a chance to make it to state. We’ll see.”
