Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Patriots Fall Short....

They left it all on the floor.

From Amber Lee's sweat and Jasmine Smith's passion to Summer Price's heart and Katie Anderson's blood, Patrick Henry did everything they could to advance to the final four of the Central Region Girls Basketball Tournament.

In the end, a surprising no-call, followed by a 7-0 Cosby run to take the lead for good, gave the Titans a 51-41 win in Ashland Wednesday night.

In her final game, Katie Anderson scored 21 points, but could only score five field goals (one from 3), constantly harassed all night by Cosby's defense. Anderson went down hard early in the final quarter with the Patriots leading, but no foul was called. She was slow to get up and came up bleeding on the right arm. She left the game while the wound was attended to and a fresh uniform top found (she finished her career wearing #32), but from this point on, Cosby seemed to take control.

A steal and a 3-pointer tied the game at 31-31, the Patriots took the lead for the last time at 33-31. Cosby took the lead for good at 35-33 with 4:48 to go and sealed it at the free throw line when the Patriots had to resort to fouling late in the game.

Amber Lee picked up two early fouls, but played valiantly on defense, finishing with six points. Price finished with eight. Jasmine Smith's last game ended with her tallying four points, all from the charity stripe.

The Patriots finish the season 23-3 with a performance that proved they belonged in the Top 10 in the Central Region all season. A few different sets of circumstances in the fourth quarter could have turned the tide the other way.

Look for complete coverage one week from tomorrow in the March 1st Hanover Herald-Progress.

NOTE: Anderson finishes her PH career as the second all-time leading scorer with 1,509 points, scoring point #1,500 on a free throw with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

No comments: