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Sigourney holds on, hands Bravettes first conference loss
Game comes down to final shot with 0.6 seconds remaining
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MONTEZUMA — A missed three-pointer off an inbounds pass under the basket with 0.6 seconds gave Sigourney a 41-40 win over Montezuma in a girls basketball game Friday.
It was the Savages’ first win over Montezuma in South Iowa Cedar League play since 2017.
The Bravettes had the ball with 14 seconds remaining, but seemed discombobulated trying to set up a shot. The forced shot was blocked, giving the Bravettes one final chance.
“We wanted a shot at the rim,” Montezuma coach Janel Burgess said on the final inbounds play.
The final possession may not have gone as planned for the Bravettes, but it can still be used as a learning experience.
“Those are new situations when you got a youthful team,” Burgess said.
“This is just part of our process, but it’s not easy. The kids have that pressure for playing for Montezuma and you get every team’s best shot.”
Sigourney came out strong, not just from Brynn Clarahan, who led the conference in scoring and accounted for 46.7% of the Savages’ scoring this season, but from other players who stepped up from the three-point line all first half.
Bailey Gretter and Ella Burns each hit two of the Savages’ six three-pointers in the first half. Gretter and Burns came in to the game with four each for the season.
“We let their other scorers get comfortable, and we didn’t communicate and switch right,” Burgess said.
Trailing 15-7 after a quarter, Montezuma started the second on a 5-0 spurt with baskets from Claire Erselius and Sophia Semprini.
Sigourney led 24-16 at half.
A Molly Jones three-pointer, an Erselius basket and a pair of Vivian Cook free throws capped off a 7-0 run to give Montezuma its first and only lead of the game at 30-29 in the third quarter.
Both teams struggled from the field in the fourth as neither could separate.
Trailing 38-34 with 1:40 remaining, the Bravettes put in one more surge, and the game come down to the final shot.
Clarahan finished with a game-high 18 points for Sigourney. Gretter was also in double figures, with 11.
Erselius led the Bravettes with 15, many of those points coming on drives. Cook followed with nine.
The loss was the first of the season for Montezuma (7-3, 6-1) in conference play.
“Our shooting percentage has been down this season,” Burgess said. “We just have to be more efficient and keep doing things the right way no matter how hard it is.”
