An overtime setback was not the way Paris High School basketball girls wanted to end a successful season, no doubt about it.
After concluding the regular season with an 80-50 home romp over L&C rival Marceline on Friday, the Lady Coyotes came up short 61-54 in overtime Monday against Van-Far in their Class 2/District 6 debut at Louisiana.
Paris was seeded third and the Lady Indians sixth, but Van-Far posted nine of the 11 points scored in the extra period to end the Lady Coyotes’ campaign at 14-10, including a 7-3 league mark good for second place.
“It was a very disappointing way to end a very successful season,” PHS coach Chris Willingham said. “Van-Far played a very good game and really controlled it until midway through the fourth quarter.
“We made a big run in the fourth to pull ahead by four, but they fought back to pull even and force overtime,” he continued. “They hit a big 3-pointer on the first possession of OT and we had several opportunities to battle back, but we struggled mightily from the field in OT, shooting 1-for-12 with several good looks, and Van-Far hit free throws down the stretch and we had no answer.”
After a 16-16 opening period, the Lady Indians forged ahead 30-29 by halftime and 43-37 after three quarters. Paris needed a 15-9 stretch run to extend the contest, but to no avail.
“I don’t want this loss to define our season; we were outplayed in a big game and unfortunately that game ended our season, but we still had a very successful year,” Willingham noted.“This was the first winning season in seven years at Paris.
“I’d like to thank our seniors for their hard work and dedication. Tessa Henderson and Amanda DeOrnellas had great seasons and left it all on the court each night,” the PHS coach said. “Taylor Ross and Andriel Cublertson played big minutes for us all year and were great leaders. We would not have had the success we did without their determination and effort. They will be missed, but I feel very confident they have laid a solid foundation and we will continue to improve build toward special seasons in the future.”
Henderson netted 17P and DeOrnellas 12P in the playoff game; Payton Gruber was next in line for Paris with 8P. Gruber also handed out 5A, while DeOrnellas totaled 19 R/4A plus five blocks and Henderson had 8R/4A.
Against Marceline on Senior Night, the Lady Coyotes took command with a 25-9 first quarter, led 38-27 by halftime and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-11 in the third period and 22-12 in the fourth.
“We put it all together and it was great for this team and for our seniors to close out their last home game in such a convincing fashion,” Willingham observed.
Taylor Ross scored 10P and Payton Gruber 19P, both career highs, while Tessa Henderson made 11 of 18 shots from the field to net 24P and moved past the 1,000-point mark for her career, becoming only the fourth PHS female to do so.
DeOrnellas also compiled 8P/17R and five blocks, Andriel Culbertson and Gruber each had 3S, Gruber and Henderson 6A apiece.
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An overtime setback was not the way Paris High School basketball girls wanted to end a successful season, no doubt about it.
After concluding the regular season with an 80-50 home romp over L&C rival Marceline on Friday, the Lady Coyotes came up short 61-54 in overtime Monday against Van-Far in their Class 2/District 6 debut at Louisiana.
Paris was seeded third and the Lady Indians sixth, but Van-Far posted nine of the 11 points scored in the extra period to end the Lady Coyotes’ campaign at 14-10, including a 7-3 league mark good for second place.
“It was a very disappointing way to end a very successful season,” PHS coach Chris Willingham said. “Van-Far played a very good game and really controlled it until midway through the fourth quarter.
“We made a big run in the fourth to pull ahead by four, but they fought back to pull even and force overtime,” he continued. “They hit a big 3-pointer on the first possession of OT and we had several opportunities to battle back, but we struggled mightily from the field in OT, shooting 1-for-12 with several good looks, and Van-Far hit free throws down the stretch and we had no answer.”
After a 16-16 opening period, the Lady Indians forged ahead 30-29 by halftime and 43-37 after three quarters. Paris needed a 15-9 stretch run to extend the contest, but to no avail.
“I don’t want this loss to define our season; we were outplayed in a big game and unfortunately that game ended our season, but we still had a very successful year,” Willingham noted.“This was the first winning season in seven years at Paris.
“I’d like to thank our seniors for their hard work and dedication. Tessa Henderson and Amanda DeOrnellas had great seasons and left it all on the court each night,” the PHS coach said. “Taylor Ross and Andriel Cublertson played big minutes for us all year and were great leaders. We would not have had the success we did without their determination and effort. They will be missed, but I feel very confident they have laid a solid foundation and we will continue to improve build toward special seasons in the future.”
Henderson netted 17P and DeOrnellas 12P in the playoff game; Payton Gruber was next in line for Paris with 8P. Gruber also handed out 5A, while DeOrnellas totaled 19 R/4A plus five blocks and Henderson had 8R/4A.
Against Marceline on Senior Night, the Lady Coyotes took command with a 25-9 first quarter, led 38-27 by halftime and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-11 in the third period and 22-12 in the fourth.
“We put it all together and it was great for this team and for our seniors to close out their last home game in such a convincing fashion,” Willingham observed.
Taylor Ross scored 10P and Payton Gruber 19P, both career highs, while Tessa Henderson made 11 of 18 shots from the field to net 24P and moved past the 1,000-point mark for her career, becoming only the fourth PHS female to do so.
DeOrnellas also compiled 8P/17R and five blocks, Andriel Culbertson and Gruber each had 3S, Gruber and Henderson 6A apiece.
