Late third quarter surge keeps Cheney perfect

GARDEN PLAIN, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - In a game where neither team could quite pull away for the opening 23 minutes, the final minute of the third proved too much for Garden Plain to overcome in a 54-50 loss to Cheney Friday night.

A mostly back and forth first half carried over to the second half until the Cardinal defense took control, forcing consecutive turnovers as they closed the quarter on an 8-0 run and never looked back.

The run was started by an Olivia Albers blocked shot, leading directly to a Lexie Cline bucket on the other end to break the tie with 50 seconds to play in the quarter. The next Owl possession, Cline forced a tie-up, with the arrow pointing in the Cardinals direction. Cline again provided the offense, firing home a three to make it a 5 point game.

Then in the closing seconds of the quarter, Kylee Scheer forced a steal at mid-court, taking it up and in to cap the run and give the Cardinals a 7 point lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Owls twice came back from 7 point deficits in the 4th quarter, cutting it to both 40-39 and 48-47, but that one point difference never flipped in their favor with Cheney closing out the game at the free throw line.

One final chance for the Owls came off a missed free throw down 52-50, but the ball bounced to the Cardinals’ Brooklyn Wewe, who secured the rebound and put the game away at the line.

The free throw line kept Garden Plain with Cheney for much of the first half, the Owls making 13 of 17 attempts from the charity stripe for a majority of their first half points. Christa Rose-Gorges was responsible for 7 of the 13 makes when they took a 24-22 lead to the locker room.

Scheer, who came in averaging nearly 24 points per game, did not take her first shot attempt until the closing seconds of the first quarter. She finished with a team-best 16, 7 of those coming in the fourth quarter.

Wewe added 14, while Brynn McCormick contributed 8 of her 12 in the first half. Cline, who just returned from an injury to make her senior season debut last week, scored all 9 of her points in the second half.

Alli Peutz paced the Owls with 14, 9 of those coming in the final quarter, while Madysen Zoglman adde 12. Rose-Gorges scored all 9 of her points in the opening half.

Cheney, now 16-0, will look to continue their unbeaten season with a pair of home contests against Kingman and Belle Plaine next week. Garden Plain, who dropped to 12-4, will hit the road to take on Wichita Independent on Tuesday.

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