Missed opportunities curse Parma
Panthers lose to No. 1 Soda Springs 41-40
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Friday, February 20, 2009 10:50 AM PST
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| Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer
Parma’s Kali Roche (front) drives in for the left-handed layup while Soda Springs’ Carly Skinner (rear) and Madie Kimball defend during the second half of their 2A state playoff game at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise. The Panthers lost the game, 41-40. |
Boise—It was the kind of game that had many Panther fans shaking their heads in frustration.
Parma committed 19 turnovers, shot 13-of-52 from the field, made 12-of-23 free throws and still had a chance to defeat the No. 1 ranked and undefeated Soda Springs Cardinals.
The Panthers rebounded from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit and regained the lead with one minute left in the game, only to see Cardinal freshman Paige Anderson hit the eventual game-winner with 29 seconds left in a 41-40 Soda Springs victory in first round action at the 2A Real Dairy Shootout state girls basketball tournament at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise.
“They made some mistakes but ended up making up for it in the fourth quarter like we needed,” Parma head coach Monique Jensen said. “We just missed key free throws and key lay-ins. When you shoot 50 percent from the line, you’re not going to win very many ball games. If we drop one more, it could have been a different outcome.”
With 5:45 remaining in regulation, Soda Springs enjoyed a 37-30 advantage, when Parma staged its comeback.
Alli Nielsen added a rebound and putback, and Becca Leavitt grabbed a steal, scored the layup and added a free throw to draw the Panthers to within 37-35.
Mercedes Stell and the rest of the Parma student section was going crazy, and momentum seemed to switch, but Anderson silenced the section after a short jumper to give the Cardinals a 39-35 lead.
With three minutes left, Nielsen made good on 1-of-2 free throws to make the score 39-36, and the Panthers were one possession from a tie.
Through the next 1:19 of the contest, both teams combined for four turnovers, and the score remained 39-36 with 1:32 left in the game.
After a Parma timeout, Hailey Laird took an inbounds pass and connected on a clutch 3-pointer from the left side to tie the score at 39 with 1:29 remaining.
Soda Springs came up dry on its next time up the court, and Parma held the ball for a chance to break the deadlock.
Breanna Stell missed a short jumper, but Kali Roche grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback attempt with one minute left.
Roche’s first attempt rolled in the rim and out for a miss, but the second try was true, and the Panthers led for the first time since the first quarter, 40-39.
“I say it was motivation and determination,” Stell said when asked what it said about her team coming back from a fourth-quarter deficit. “We had a goal set from the beginning of the year, and we wanted to accomplish that goal. Obviously, things didn’t go our way this time.”
On their next trip, the Cardinals worked the ball around and fed Anderson, who was posting up Laird. Johnson made a couple of dribbles, pump-faked and drained her short jumper with 29 seconds left to give Soda Springs a 41-40 advantage.
Parma dribbled to midcourt and called its last timeout with 20.5 ticks remaining.
The inbounds pass went to Stell, who made another pass to Laird. Laird faked a shot to get her defender in the air, dribbled to the baseline and fired off a 10-footer.
The ball hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity.
Laird’s jumper hit the rim, and the rebound bounced to Soda Springs’ Shelby Johnson. Johnson made a pass to Kayla McMurray, and Panther defenders raced to foul her with four seconds left, and the Cardinals still leading by one point.
McMurray missed the front end of the 1-and-1, Nielsen snared the rebound and made a pass to Roche as time was running out.
Roche dribbled close to midcourt and heaved a desperation shot as the buzzer sounded.
It missed, and the Cardinals survived to fight another day, while the Panthers were left wondering what could have and should have been.
“We had our chances but didn’t capitalize,” Roche said. “We beat ourselves. They’re a good team, but we just didn’t play up to that next level to win this game.”
Parma (20-3 overall) faces Grangeville (19-2) at 1:15 p.m. today at Bishop Kelly High School. Grangeville suffered a 70-69 double overtime loss to West Jefferson Thursday.
2A girls state schedule
All games being played at Skyview High School in Nampa
Today
Game 5: Parma vs. Grangeville 1:15 p.m.
Game 6: Melba vs. North Fremont 3 p.m.
Game 7: Soda Springs vs. West Jefferson 6:15 p.m.
Game 8: Valley vs. Kamiah 8 p.m.
