The Grove Lady Ridgerunners used a big run at the beginning of the third quarter to snap a three-game losing streak, holding off the Catoosa Lady Indians for a 38-30 home win on Friday.
The Lady Ridgerunners (5-8) led 15-8 at halftime, then started the third quarter with an 11-2 run to push their advantage to 26-10 midway through the period.
But Grove (5-8) also got into foul trouble early in the half, and the Lady Indians (3-15) took advantage at the free throw line, chipping away to within eight (28-20) by the end of the third.
In all, Catoosa hit 7-of-11 at the line in the third and 10-of-15 in the second half.
The Lady Ridgerunners held on thanks to their own success at the stripe, knocking down 6-of-9 in the fourth quarter to keep Catoosa at bay.
“We got a win and I’m excited and very happy,” Grove head coach Richard Bassett said. “We’ll take them and be happy to get them.”
The Lady Ridgerunners were able to stop their losing skid thanks in part to winning the battle of the boards. After being outrebounded 35-22 in Tuesday’s loss to Jay, Grove held a 40-33 advantage on Friday, with Libby Morris getting 10 rebounds.
“We had a little talk after the Jay game about getting rebounds and not standing and watching,” Bassett said. “Our rebounding was good tonight. We still struggled to score but at least we got more opportunities. In the past, it’s been one shot and go back and play defense. That’s what happened against Jay.”
Grove scored on their first three possessions of the game to take an early 6-0 lead. But the Lady Ridgerunners would get just four more points over the next eight minutes, allowing the Lady Indians to get within three before a late flurry stretched the lead to seven at halftime.
The Lady Ridgerunners then knocked down three three-pointers to start the third quarter, taking command of the game for good.
Lily Jeffries led Grove with 10 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Emilee Iverson added 9 points while Morris finished with 7.
“Our defense was a little bit better as far as our intensity,” Bassett said. “We’ve just got to shoot the ball better.”
Madison Martin led Catoosa with 12 points, who lost for the ninth consecutive time.
