Bob Jones gets rough with Buckhorn
The second game of the Class 6A, Area 15 tournament featured two teams familiar with each other and playing with their season on the line. The result was a rugged, chippy game that Bob Jones ultimately put away with a strong third quarter and went on the win 50-34.
The game featured two intentional fouls, one technical, and two players fouling out. And that was just for Buckhorn.
The Patriots couldn’t take advantage as they struggled shooting free throws. Bob Jones hit only 6 of 19 free throws all game.
“We couldn’t hit a free throw,” said Bob Jones coach Danny Petty. “And we had too many turnovers the first half. We turned it on in the third quarter though.”
Bob Jones had an early 9-2 lead after a three-point shot by Chandler Elder but Buckhorn surged back and a three-point shot by Olivia Howard tied the game at 16. Buckhorn went ahead 18-16 early in the second quarter.
A blocked shot and basket by Chloe Long tied the game at 20 and Sydney Booker finally got a shot to go down as she hit a three-pointer to give Bob Jones a 23-21 lead at halftime.
“When she is playing well it really helps,” Petty said of starting center Chloe Long. “Sydney Booker did a real good job of penetrating and hitting some big shots.”
Bob Jones went on a 9-0 run to open the third quarter as Nadia Stewart hit a three and followed that up with another score. Chandler Elder hit a three and Jennings got a feed and a layup as the Patriots went up 39-27 after three quarters.
Bob Jones maintained a double digit lead the entire fourth quarter as Lindsey Jennings hit the deck hard several times as Buckhorn started to get desperate.
“When you don’t have anything to lose that is what happens,” Petty said after the game of the rough play. Petty called several timeouts in the second half to try and settle things down.
“We talked about how you’ve got to keep your composure no matter what happens and I thought we did for the most part.”
Chandler Elder was the leading scorer with 16 in the game. All the scoring except two points by Chelsea Smith came from the starters as Chloe Long and Lindsey Jennings had 8 each and Sydney Booker had 9.