The Immaculata girls’ basketball team had another game go down to the wire on Friday night, but three of their starters had fouled out by the end of the second overtime, and they couldn’t survive in a 69-63 loss to Horton.
Brittany Simek led the Raiders (9-7, 3-4 in Delaware Valley League play) with 22 points, but she and fellow starter Liz Todd each committed their fifth fouls during the extra frames. Senior point guard Mary Theis had also fouled out in the fourth quarter, and although head coach Rachel Miller said her bench players did a good job and did what they were asked to do, they couldn’t quite make up for the experience lost with the departure of those three.
“(Our bench players) stepped up really well and they filled the spots, but they hadn’t been in that situation before...” Miller said. “We’re going to use this game as a learning experience.”
The game was close throughout, but Immaculata led most of the way before Horton’s Ashley Dishon led them back in the fourth quarter. Ten of her game-high 23 points were in the fourth, and four of them were in overtime as the Chargers (5-9, 3-2 in the DVL) picked up their second win of the season over the Raiders, whom they also beat in the DVL tournament on Dec. 7.
IHS was able to hold them off for a while, though. Miller said that Horton had the ball in the final 10-15 seconds of both the fourth quarter and the first overtime, but the Raider defense held them both times.
“It was just a solid defensive effort,” Miller said. “We made sure we played everybody and everybody had their man. ... We just made sure we stuck to our defense, and everybody (went for the) rebound.”
The game was tied 55-55 at the end of regulation, and Miller said they got a big effort on the offensive glass from Todd in the first overtime to keep it close. It was 60-60 heading into the second overtime.
“She was able to get fouled and step to the line (after getting offensive rebounds),” Miller said.
IHS had led by as many as nine points in the third quarter and still had a 44-39 advantage heading into the fourth. That was before Dishon found the range for the Chargers, however.
“(Dishon) was just on fire...” Miller said. “We missed three or four free-throws at the end ... and we had three or four possessions where we threw the ball away. ... We seemed nervous at the end.”
Neither team got out to much of a lead in the first half. IHS led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter with Simek getting out to a strong start on the inside, but Horton had closed the gap to 25-24 by halftime.
“Right at the beginning, Brittany Simek started out pretty hot,” Miller said. “She pulled it out and shot it out from the outside a little bit ... and our defense stepped up quite a bit tonight. ... We were able to take advantage and utilize some of those turnovers in the backcourt.”
Todd finished with 14 points, and Shelbie Wolk added 13 for IHS. Theis had eight points, with she and Todd each making one 3-pointer. Greer Fisher added four points for IHS, and Maura Schmidling had two.
Hannah Compton racked up 22 points for Horton. The Chargers also had two 3-pointers — one apiece by Dishon and Laura Pickman — but they only went 11-for-26 from the free-throw line as a team. IHS went 14-for-24.
The Raiders will be back in action on Tuesday, when they host Oskaloosa for a DVL matchup on senior night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
