By Jeremy McDonald
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
MT. ANGEL, Ore.– They knew they weren’t out of the woods yet as Monroe kept it to around ten, 12 being the biggest St. Paul lead as Mirtha Lopez 1-for-3 free throw trip got it to 36-27 with 3:25 left in the third.
Rebounding, boxing out was captained by Wyss as their offense cooled from their second quarter clip, but then they needed to get a run going with Monroe getting the game to five with a minute left in the frame.
It seemed ages since their 21-6 run that had turned a 15-10 late first quarter deficit into their 31-21 halftime lead.
“We had a really slow start, but we came together. We had to find where our defense had to come together, and once we got our offense down, we took off from there. We still have a couple of things we need to fix,” said Annabelle Davidson.
Davidson scored seven of her 11 points in the first quarter and hit a big three to get the Buckaroos to 15-13 entering the second quarter that led into the first half run.
Wyss pushed the lead to 37-31 entering the fourth at the line and Erin Counts capitalized on Wyss’ steal to start the fourth, Mary Davidson hit a midrange jumper to get the lead back to 10 a minute into the fourth 41-31.
Counts finished with 21 points, scoring ten in the second quarter and seven in the fourth quarter to help spark runs as they await the winner of Weston_McEwen and Kennedy Saturday afternoon at Kennedy in the Kennedy Classic Tournament final.
There was an sense that the St. Paul switch was about to be flipped as it did in the fourth as the Buckaroo lead ballooned to 47-31 before the Dragons scored. Starting with Wyss’ free throw to end the quarter, the Bucks went on a 19-2 run to polish off their fourth win of the season and their 35th-in-a-row 57-36.
“At the beginning at the game it took us a while to adjust, but once we did get going ane playing as a team passing together, it went well,” said Counts. “I think that should be our goal tomorrow and the rest of the games. Playing together and talking.”
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
