The Alleghany girls basketball team was all but done heading into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game trailing by 18 (38-20).
But the Lady Mounties found their shooting touch in the final quarter to make things interesting as they fell to the William Byrd Terriers, 53-45.
Kasey McAllister’s baseline jumper with 2:17 left in the opening quarter knotted the score at six before William Byrd’s Sammi Webster scored off a layup. Byrd’s Jodi Overstreet knocked down a jumper with 42 seconds remaining to give the Terriers an early 10-6 lead after one quarter.
The Terriers led 14-8 following Webster’s dish to Brittany Mattox for two and Mattox knocked down a perimeter jumper the next trip up the floor to increase the Terriers’ lead to 16-8 with 5:33 left in the half.
Byrd led 21-8 before Allman’s layup made it 21-10 with 46 seconds left. The Terriers’ Ashley Smith and Mattox both hit jumpers down the stretch to take a 25-10 lead at the half.
Paige Irvine’s dish to Mindy Gillispie made the score 28-14 with 5:06 left in the third quarter and Kirsten Burton’s baseline jumper made it 30-16.
Webster knocked down a trey from the top of the key to give Byrd a 33-16 lead. Burton added another baseline jumper with 1:37 left in the third to make the score 36-20, but Byrd’s Kam Hagins added a stickback with 19 seconds left to give the Terriers a 38-20 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Megan Cole’s three-ball from the wing brought Alleghany to within 12 (41-29) with 5:32 to play. The Lady Mounties cut the lead to single digits (51-43) following McAllister’s three-point play, but it was a little too late as the Terriers hung on for the 53-45 Blue Ridge District victory.
Webster led all scorers with 20 points and added eight rebounds, while Mattox finished with 16 points and eight boards.
Burton came off the bench to pace the Mounties with 12 points, while Allman finished with 10 and McAllister just missed double digits with nine.
Alleghany (2-14, 0-4) will be back in action today with a road game at Rockbridge. Action starts at 6 p.m. with the junior varsity matchup.
The Alleghany JVs opened the afternoon with a 43-16 win over the Terrier JVs.
Analea Deeds paced AHS with 15 points, while Sara Church had six.
Kristian Wiseman and Samantha Fridley scored five points each and Kayla Buchanan chipped in four.
Tiffany White finished with three, while Katura Cosby, Tori Arritt and Emily Timbrook had two points each. Catherine Fornwalt rounded out the Alleghany scoring with one point.
Madison Morris led William Byrd with seven points.
The Alleghany JVs also picked up a 40-27 win last Wednesday over Jefferson Forest.
Buchanan led Alleghany with 14 points, while Deeds added seven. Cortnie Walton chipped in five and Church and Arritt added four points each.
Wiseman, Cosby and Timbrook rounded out the Alleghany scoring with two points each.