Stallions can’t close in loss
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Aleecia Rosel gets off a runner during Tuesday’s loss to the Edison Tigers. She scored a team-high 13 points.
The Madera South Stallions girls basketball team showed off its potential by jumping out to a 15-point lead on the Edison-Fresno Tigers.
However, the Tigers converted at the free throw line and outscored the Stallions 38-17 in the second half for a 56-48 County/Metro Athletic Conference victory Tuesday night.
“We have the propensity to play one half and think that’s the game.” head coach Johnny Sharp said. “That’s the one thing we told them at halftime. We told them to come out in the second half, it’s 0-0. I knew when we came out, we were a little lackadaisical even before we started the third quarter. I knew the emotions shifted.
“The first half was a great half. All the basic fundamentals, we did in the first half. The second half, we lost our fundamentals. It was a little physical under the basket and I thought we could have gotten a foul or two and it would have helped a little bit. We didn’t and there’s the game.”
Aleecia Rosel and Lexi Eller each scored 13 points for the Stallions. Arelis Chavez scored five points with 12 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass.
However, the big story was the difference in the halves. Madera South shot 37 percent (14-of-38) from the field in the first half. However, they shot just 21 percent (7-of-33) from the field in the second half, including going 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
The Stallions tried to keep themselves in the game in the fourth quarter and forced six turnovers, but couldn’t convert any into points. Madera South tied the game at 48 with about three minutes left in the game. The Tigers closed out the game with eight straight points while Madera South missed six shots and turned the ball over twice.
Edison helped itself from the free throw line, hitting 23-of-29 (79 percent). Meanwhile, Madera South only had four free throws, making two.
After Edison opened the game with a 3-pointer, Kierra Smith hit the first of her three to tie the game.
The Tigers tied the game at seven after Rosel gave the Stallions the lead with back-to-back buckets. Smith hit a 3-pointer and Eller found Taylor Rogers for a free throw and a 12-7 lead. Rosel answered and Edison putback with a baseline layup.
After The Tigers hit two free throws, Rosel beat the shot clock and first quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer for a 17-11 lead.
Emily Montoya made a driving layup and she found Eller for a short jumper for a 7-0 run and a 21-11 lead.
Edison came back with a 3-pointer and a layup, but Arelis Chavez kept the Stallion in front with an offensive putback.
The Tigers cut the lead to five with a short jumper, but the Stallions stormed back with eight straight points for a 31-18 halftime lead.
Rosel started the run with a seven-foot runner. Then, Eller hit Briseida Vasquez for a layup. Eller got a steal and made a layup. Eller got another steal and Rosel hit a 16-foot jumper for the 13-point lead.
Edison opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Chavez put back her own miss and Smith hit a 3-pointer for a 15-point lead with about six minutes left in the third.
From there, the Tigers chipped away at the Madera South lead. They went on a 9-0 run, including hitting two technical free throws after Madera South was called for too many players on the court.
Chavez and Eller hit free throws to stall the run, but Edison extended it to 13-2 with a 3-pointer to cut the Stallions’ lead to four.
Eller hit a short jumper, but Edison answered with two jumper and two free throws to tie the game at 40 with 1:16 left in the third.
After an Edison free throw, Eller hit a 15-foot jumper for a 42-41 lead into the fourth quarter. Neither team scored for about four minutes before the Tigers made a pair of free throws to take the lead.
Eller quickly answered with a pull-up 15-footer. However, the Tigers made three free throws for a 46-44 lead.
Eller tied the game with a 16-foot jumper, but Edison reclaimed the lead with a short bucket. Rogers tied the game at 48 with a short bucket.
However, Edison went 6-of-6 from the free throw line and Madera South couldn’t take advantage of three Edison turnovers while the Tigers closed the game on an 8-0 run for the win.
