Emotional Polk-Hordville girls fall to Friend 69-63

Polk-Hordville¹s Crystal Lindburg dishes off the ball as Friend¹s Erin Cockson defends during the second half of their semifinal game in the Crossroads Conference playoffs Thursday night in York.

YORK -- The only place where the Polk-Hordville girls basketball team came up short Thursday was on the scoreboard.

 The Wildcats, less than 36 hours after saying good-bye to teammate Lisa Garrett, who was killed in an automobile accident Saturday, rallied from a 22-point deficit before falling short to Friend 69-63 in the Crossroads Conference tournament semifinals.

 Polk-Hordville coach Craig Brown said the Wildcats continued to show a lot of heart during a difficult week.

 "The way we came out Monday (in an upset win over second-seeded Hampton), it was a miracle just getting dressed for the game," he said. "I can't describe the amount of heart this team has.

 "I'm pleased with our comeback (against Friend). We showed a lot of heart to come back from a 22-point deficit. We knew we were messing up in the first half, and it was a matter of changing our attitude and doing what we needed to."

 The seventh-seeded Wildcats (6-9), who wore black armbands and black patches on their uniforms in honor of Garrett, looked to be out of the game when they trailed the third-seeded Bulldogs 40-23 at the half.

 But Polk-Hordville chipped away at the lead throughout the second half, cutting the deficit to 12 points, 54-42, when Stacy Person banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the quarter.

 "Stacy was on fire with 3-pointers," Brown said. "We felt she was due."

 Friend kept the lead at around a dozen points until midway through the final period.

 Two free throws by Tiffany Majerus, a 3-pointer by Erica Lindburg and a free throw by Crystal Lindburg made it 59-53 with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left.
 
 

Independent/Gerik Parmele

Wearing black armbands team members of Polk-Hordville¹s girls basketball team huddle before their semifinal game in the Crossroads Conference Thursday night in York. The team was wearing the armbands in remembrance of teammate Lisa Garrett who was killed Saturday in a two-vehicle crash.

Crystal Lindburg missed her second free throw, but Majerus put the rebound in to close within four, 59-55.

 After Erin Cockson made two free throws for the Bulldogs, the Wildcats got three 3-point attempts off before Person's connected to close within three points, 61-58, with 1:33 remaining.

 Two free throws and a steal and layup by Blair Milton gave Friend a 65-58 cushion.

 Person hit two free throws before Cockson made one to up the lead to 66-60 with 33.4 seconds left.

 Majerus converted a 3-point play 10 seconds later to get the Wildcats back within three points, but as is fitting in a game that saw 82 free throws, the Bulldogs clinched the game at the line.

 The Wildcats were led by 16 points and nine rebounds by Majerus. Person added 15 points, and Erica Lindburg had 12 points.

 Milton had a game-best 17 points for Friend.

 Brown said Polk-Hordville had too much ground to make up after being outscored 24-8 in the first quarter.

 "You can't take a half off from a team of that caliber," he said. "They are too good of a team, and they don't miss many free throws.

 "I don't know if (the slow start) was because of the fact that we didn't practice for the past few days. But I felt it was important for everyone to get closure with Lisa and have family time."

 A close-knit team has helped everyone get through this difficult time, Brown said.

 "This is an extremely tight team," he said. "It is hard not to be when you spend hours together for a season that is four, five months long."

 Brown said the team will be ready for today's consolation game against Dorchester at 3 p.m.

 "We don't plan to take a half off," he said. "But even if we don't win, with everything that has happened, I'll be satisfied with fourth place in the conference."

 In the first semifinal game on Thursday, the McCool Junction Mustangs defeated the Dorchester Longhorns 50-35. McCool Junction and Friend will play for the title on Friday. Game time at the York Civic Auditorium is 6:30 p.m.