Demons prevail over Panthers in overtime

WASHINGTON - There were myriad obstacles for the Washington High School basketball team to overcome Friday in a Southeast Conference matchup against Mt. Pleasant. And it took an extra four minutes to accomplish a 50-47 victory.

The Demons had lost 36-32 in the teams' first meeting. Two Demon starters fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter of Friday's game. The first Demon lead wasn't until five minutes, 48 seconds were left in regulation. A very slow start resulted in a 7-6 deficit after the first quarter and a 16-10 deficit at halftime.

Kinsey Duwa's two 3-pointers were the only Demon points of the first quarter while five different Panthers scored in the first half.

Lydia Stewart finished with a game-high 19 points, hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers to go with her four steals. Panther teammate Emma Huckabone went for 13 points on 5-for-9 field goals. Andrea Lopreato had eight rebounds and six points.

Mt. Pleasant is 4-12 overall after a 60-38 nonconference loss to Indianola Saturday. The Panthers are 3-4 in the SEC.

Stewart was also the high scorer in Saturday's game with 10 points. Sydni Coleman and Avery Sutter added five points apiece. Sutter and Stewart had six boards each and Isabel Ashton five.

'(Friday's) game was a fun game,” MP head coach Curt Watson said. 'I can't complain about anything. It was a great effort from both teams.”

The coach singled out Stewart's effort.

'She is a senior and she has really stepped up,” he said. 'Her game is coming around the last couple weeks. She has been solid in that time.”

Nacos scored in the first few seconds of the third quarter but Stewart canned a three. The teams traded baskets until the Demons scored seven straight to tie at 28-28. A Stewart basket gave the Panthers a 30-28 lead starting the final frame.

The Demons went 3-of-5 on free throws over the beginning of the fourth to take that initial lead,

There were 23 combined free throws attempted in the fourth quarter with 11 misses.

MP was 10-of-22 in the game and WHS was 20-of-38 on foul shots.

The game was tied at 33, 34, 35 and then 37 at the end of regulation.

'There was definitely some swings in the game from both teams,” Watson said. 'There were a lot of free throws but I thought the refs were consistent. To me that is a big thing. Of course they're always going to miss a few but that happens.”

The big swing was Halle Leyden's 3-pointer from the side in the first seconds of the overtime, then she converted a conventional 3-point play. The Demons had never led by more than a point and now were up by six.

'When I threw her the ball, I yelled to her to shoot it and I knew right when it left her hands it was going in,” Nacos said. 'We need her to shoot and it made a difference for us at the end. She definitely helped us out.”

Leyden finished with 12 points, 10 in the overtime.

'I think she realized this may be her last time playing Mt. Pleasant and she wanted to step up,” WHS coach Shannon Rugg said of Leyden, who is a senior. 'We want Halle to shoot the ball.”

The Panthers scored the next four points, calling a timeout after each basket, then closed to within one on Lopreato's two foul shots with 1:38 left.

Addison Six made two free throws for a 47-43 lead then came up with a crucial defensive play, blocking a Panther's shot. Leyden made two more free throws with :49 left for a 49-43 edge.

'This is just a tribute to how our girls stick together,” Rugg said. 'Nobody is looking for glory. Whoever gets hot, that's who we go with. Anna got hot but it is a team effort.”

Nacos finished with 19 and Duwa 10.

'We count on Anna a lot to handle the ball and she did a great job,” Rugg said.

'Ball handling is pretty important especially during certain parts of the game but that comes with my position,” Nacos said. 'Sometimes it may be the most important thing I do in the game. My job is to break the press, set up our offense and get the ball to whatever person we need to run a play. My job is not about the points, it's about a lot of other things.”

Washington is 8-5, 3-3 and hosts Ottumwa tonight.