WINTHROP — No matter how much Spruce Mountain’s rough-and-tumble defense got in Winthrop’s face, the Ramblers still found ways to score Tuesday night.
Both defenses met head-on and battered each other, but Winthrop opened up a lead late in the fourth quarter and, with precision foul shooting, carried off a 62-51 victory in a Mountain Valley Conference girls basketball game.
There were fouls galore and handful of technicals, and the both teams spent a lot off time at the foul line.
Winthrop took 40 foul shots and made 36. Freshman guard Madeline Wagner went 16-for-21 at the charity stripe and scored a game-high 23 points. Maddie Perkins also stood out at the free-throw line, going 12-for-14 and knocking down three field goals for 18 points.
“I try my best, but my encouragement from my teammates was really great to help me get there,” Wagner said. “Both teams fight their hardest. I can’t complain about the officials because they called it both ways, but I am proud of both sides because we played hard.
“My team really worked together. We communicated and we got the job done like we knew we could.”
Winthrop coach John Baehr was proud of Wagner’s foul shooting.
“She has really developed her shot at the foul line and has become one of our top foul shooters,” Baehr said. “Her development this year has been phenomenal, with the other three freshmen, and it comes down to two seniors (Lydia Rice and Maddie Perkins), too.”
Spruce’s Jazmine Pingree went 7-for-10 at the free-throw line and scored a team-high 17 points. Pingree’s sister, Jadyn dropped in 10 points.
After the Phoenix erased a 10-point halftime deficit in third quarter, the Ramblers pulled back ahead in the fourth and finally secured the victory.
“I was a very physical game,” Baehr said. “I am proud of the girls for just responding the way they did. Coach (Zach Keene) does a great job over there and we played a great with them.”
Baehr said all the finishing touches in every game makes a difference.
“We have been working on finishing ball games at the defensive end and on the offensive end,” Baehr said. “I think we did them both. When it comes down to tournament time, that’s what it really comes down to is grinding it out at the half court — offensively and defensively.”
Winthrop’s defense stymied the Phoenix’s offense in the first quarter and took a 10-3 lead.
But things heated up in the second quarter, when the Ramblers and Phoenix kept knocking each other around and to the floor. Yet, both teams kept their composure. Spruce closed in on Winthrop in the second quarter, but the Ramblers still kept a safe distance and built a 26-16 lead at halftime.
The battering continued in the third quarter, and the Phoenix moved within five points with 4:08 left in the period. Then, basket by Spruce’s Jaydn Pingree cut the deficit to 32-28. Later in the period, Phoenix guard Aubrey Kachnovich got loose on a breakaway and scored in the waning seconds, handing the Phoenix a 36-35 lead.
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