Lady Hornets stumble in third quarter

Unbeaten Boonville rallies from 15-point deficit, hands Fulton first loss

The Fulton Lady Hornets had to be in a state of euphoria as they entered the break in their showdown against the Boonville Lady Pirates.

Both Fulton and Boonville brought unbeaten marks into Tuesday night's North Central Missouri Conference clash at Roger D. Davis Gymnasium. The Lady Hornets were the more impressive team in the first half, governing play on both offense and defense as they crafted a 15-point halftime lead.

The Lady Pirates, though, needed just 8 minutes of court time to erase Fulton's elation.

Boonville wiped out its 32-17 deficit at intermission by outscoring Fulton 21-5 in the third quarter, and the Lady Pirates hit four free throws in the final 26.9 seconds to preserve their 53-46 NCMC victory over the Lady Hornets.

The loss left Fulton at 5-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, while Boonville improved to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the NCMC.

"Great teams find a way to work through that," said Lady Hornets head coach TJ Quick, referring to the disastrous third quarter. "Instead of getting frustrated and upset with each other, upset with the officials ... we need to look inside ourselves and say, "What can I do better?'

"We need to work through that together as a team, and not five individuals on the court. When we can pick each other up and work together, good things will happen."

Fulton trailed 49-46 when Boonville's 6-foot-1 senior center, Morgan Edwards, missed a pair of free throws with :58.2 to play. The Lady Hornets came down with the rebound and had a chance to tie the game on their ensuing possession, but junior guard Rachel Guse's 3-point attempt skimmed off the rim with about :35 to go.

The Lady Pirates then secured the win after sophomore guard Paige Renfrow knocked down all four of her free-throw chances, the latter two coming with :08.6 remaining.

Fulton shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first half and turned the ball over just five times in building its double-digit advantage. Meanwhile, the Lady Hornets' 1-2-2 zone defense pestered Boonville's taller lineup, coercing the Lady Pirates into a dreadful 24-percent shooting effort (6-of-25) and forcing 10 turnovers.

"We knew what their game plan was, they were going to try to get it into Morgan," Quick said. "She's a great player, deserves all the credit. We fronted her and then we helped behind her. That was our game plan, and we did it."

Everything that went well for Fulton in the first 16 minutes, though, went horribly wrong in the third quarter. Junior forward NaShayla Brandt scored on a putback at the 7:28 mark to give Fulton a 34-17 edge, but then Boonville erupted by going on a stunning 18-0 run.

The Lady Pirates took their first lead of the game when Edwards converted two free throws with 2:13 to play in the quarter, making it 35-34. Boonville took a three-point lead before junior guard Sloane Totta dropped in a baseline jumper with :05 left to bring Fulton within 38-37 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Lady Hornets were only 2-of-11 from the field and turned the ball over four times in the third quarter. They were unable to regain the lead in the last 8 minutes.

"When we're turning the ball over and taking bad shots, that's an easy transition for (Boonville)," Quick said. "Those are easy buckets and that momentum swings right in their favor."

Totta tallied 13 of her team-high 19 points in the first half to pace three players in double figures for Fulton. Brandt produced 10 of her 13 points in the first half, while Guse finished with 11.

The Lady Hornets couldn't come up with a defensive solution in the second half to slow Edwards, who connected for 18 of her game-high 28 points during that span. She was the only player to reach double figures for the Lady Pirates.

Fulton will play varsity and junior varsity girls-boys' doubleheaders at NCMC foe Kirksville starting at 5 p.m. Friday.