When the Lady Dragons are down a point at halftime, they have their opponents where they want them – or at least it seems that way. The girls beat FDR and Newburgh after trailing by a point at the intermission.
Playing at home against Newburgh on Jan. 31, the Lady Dragons erased the slim deficit and held a 38-32 lead with four minutes remaining. Then the girls hit a scoring drought that allowed the visitors to draw even. With time winding down, Renee Briggs nailed a three-pointer after fielding a pass from Alex Jurgens.
Jillian Artrip added a pair of free throws to make the score 43-38. The Goldbacks cut that to 43-41 with four seconds remaining. But the buzzer sounded before they could do any more damage.
The victory followed a 69-65 win in a seesaw battle at FDR on Jan. 27. It was a tough fight for the Lady Dragons, who trailed 12-3 in the early going and played most of the half without Renee Briggs, who was on the bench with a pair of fouls.
The hosts put up a good fight, connecting on 58 percent of their shots from the floor. But the visitors still prevailed. They scored 45 points in the second half and converted six straight foul shots in the waning moments of the game. Madison Vinett, Jillian Artrip, and Briggs each went two-for-two when it counted most.
Coach Chris Miller believes that his team’s second-half success results from the girls wearing out opponents with their relentless style of play. The coach substitutes freely, and there are players who contribute without scoring points. The team has won eight games in a row.
2 GAMES — Points: Briggs 32, Artrip 17, Thorpe 17, Vinett 15, Jurgens 12, J. Hogan 10, Eliasson 9. Threes: Briggs 7,J. Hogan 2, Thorpe 2, Artrip. Free throws: Vinett 7-9, Artrip 6-7, Thorpe 5-7, Briggs 5-8.
