Following an abnormal week due to the icy weather, the Crawford girls’ basketball team handed Bosqueville its first district loss in a dramatic 40-38 comeback victory on Thursday night.
The Lady Pirates (11-8, 9-1) were down by 11 points in the second quarter largely due to turnovers but rallied back to land a last-second jumper from Laney Elmore to snatch the win. Crawford head coach Brent Elmore noted that not giving the ball away in the second half played a major role in the comeback.
“First half, they outshot us 23 shots to 10 because turnovers,” Elmore said. “Lots of turnover in the half-court offense. We did a much better job in the second half of not turning the ball over, and I think that’s probably the reason why we won.”
Laney Elmore led the Lady Pirates in the scorebook with 19 points, including that game-winner, while Niki Clark paced the Lady Bulldogs (21-8, 9-1) with 15.
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Crawford opened the game with a layup, but Bosqueville responded with a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half. The Lady Pirates kept themselves close with a pair of trips to the free throw line and then wrapped up the 6-0 run with a late jumper, taking a one-point lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Bulldogs took off in the second, scoring 16 points. They started the period on a 7-2 run which included back-to-back threes by Clark and Haylee Harper. Crawford slipped in a bucket following a timeout to break a two-minute drought, but Bosqueville built up its 11-point lead over the next four minutes.
Elmore sunk a buzzer-beater three to cut into the lead to eight as the Lady Pirates went into the locker down 23-15.
Out of the break, Crawford began to chip away as the squads went tit-for-tat. London Minnix hit back-to-back buckets from outside to close the gap to two points with two minutes left in the third at 27-25. Jayla Lee kept Bosqueville ahead with a jumper but Minnix answered with a layup. Jaden Dougherty swished in another jumper in the last minute to keep the Lady Bulldog edge at 31-27 heading into the fourth.
But then Crawford awakened. The Lady Pirates struck with an 8-2 run to open the final quarter and taking the lead back for the first time since the second. Clark hitting a 3 to snap Bosqueville’s scoreless streak halfway through the quarter.
The teams traded the lead over the next two minutes, drawing even at 38-38 after a Minnix free throw and a Lee jumper. Elmore executed a last-second bucket to get Crawford ahead as time ran out for Bosqueville to respond.
The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Pirates are now tied at the top of District 17-2A with just a few games left to play. Bosqueville closes out its district season at 6:30 Friday night against Rosebud-Lott. Crawford will head to Moody for a 5 p.m. tilt Friday before wrapping up district play against Bruceville-Eddy on Tuesday.
BOYS Crawford 46, Bosqueville 42
To follow suit with the girls’ squad, the Crawford boys rallied over Bosqueville in a tight contest, taking over the top spot in the district.
“It was a strange week for both teams with all the ice and not being able to practice,” said Pirates head coach Sam Moody following the game. “It was a little unexpected coming in not knowing what shots were going to be like conditioning-wise, because if you lose a couple of practices, that conditioning level comes down. But the guys stepped up. They played a really good game.”
Luke Torbert led Crawford (9-1, 8-1) with 11 points followed by Kade Smith with 10, while Bosqueville’s Newt Schornack paced all scorers with 19.
The Bulldogs got ahead early at 5-4 with a Zach Warnell three and layup by Schornack before going on a 6-1 run over the next three minutes and went into the second with a 13-8 lead.
The contest was scoreless for the first three minutes of the second period and the Bulldogs lost Hunter Henexson to injury as the senior slipped in transition and was helped off the court.
Crawford cut the lead to three with back-to-back scores by Lanie Fisher and Camron Walker. Schornack responded with consecutive jumpers. A pair of trips to the line by Trey Dobie and Torbert kept the Pirates close as they went 2-for-4. Brody McNamara hit a buzzer shot to send the Bulldogs into the locker room with a five-point advantage at 19-14.
The squads went blow-for-blow top open the third as Crawford began to cut away Bosqueville edge. With 2:25 to go in the third Breck Chambers made a pass to McNamara for the basket to place the Pirates down by a possession. A free throw and a jumper kept the Bulldogs just ahead, but Crawford closed out the period with four points by Fisher, taking the game into the final quarter with a score of 31-30.
A 4-0 run to start the fourth gave the Pirates the advantage for the first time. Bosqueville took back a brief lead with four of its own. The squads traded the edge over the next minute before Smith got Crawford ahead for good, scoring six of the Pirates’ last eight points in final three minutes of the game.
Crawford will next face Moody on the road at 7 p.m. Friday while Bosqueville hosts Rosebud-Lott at 7:30.
