2A GIRLS: Needles blunts rally, repeats

After blowing a double-digit lead and losing to Lincoln County in a girls basketball regional championship game last week, Needles (Calif.) was experiencing a little deja vu in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday at the Orleans Arena.

The Lynx rallied from an 11-point deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter. But Needles avoided a repeat performance and as a result became repeat state champion with a 46-39 victory.

Needles coach Manuel Calderon said despite his team leading 31-20 entering the fourth quarter, he expected Lincoln County to make a push.

“Anytime we play Lincoln County, no matter what kind of lead we have, it’s gonna be a battle,” he said.

The Lynx (26-4) tied the score with a 15-4 run to start the fourth quarter. But Needles turned the tide by breaking Lincoln County’s full-court press, turning up the defense and hitting just enough free-throws — 7 of 14 — to prevail.

“We knew we just had to jump back in it, because we were kind of losing our heads a little bit,” said Gena Chavira, who led the Mustangs with 16 points and 20 rebounds.

Miranda Bracket scored 13 points and Alex Chandler 12 for Needles (30-3).

After Chavira’s basket in the paint capped an 11-3 run to make the score 31-20 with a minute left in the third quarter, Needles seemed in control.

But Lincoln County, which struggled shooting from the field (27 percent) and the free-throw line (4-for-18), rallied to gain a tie.

Melissa Smerek’s putback with five minutes left cut the deficit to 35-29. Then Melanie Florence converted a three-point play inside. Kori Gloeckner hit a 3-pointer to cap the rally and tie the score for the first time, at 35, with 3:45 left.

But the Lynx didn’t answer when Chandler scored with 1:52 left to give the Mustangs the lead for good, 39-37.

“We’ve done that all year,” Lynx coach Henry Frehner said of the comeback. “We just got down a little too far tonight.”
Smerek led the Lynx with 10 points and 11 rebounds.