Ladies Lose 35-37 Heartbreaker to Greenwood
    By Randy Hogan, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News, January 27, 2006

The Lady Loboes ran out to a 10-point lead over Greenwood in the second period, but the Rangerettes battled back to steal a 27-35 victory from Monahans Tuesday night at the Jerry Larned Sports Complex.

Monahans (4-5) came into the game tied with Greenwood (5-4) in a tight district race, with each team needing a win to remain in contention for a playoff spot.

"We knew going into the game that we needed to take care of our business," Coach Treasure Thaggard said.  "At this point every game is a playoff game for us to reach the post season."

After playing an outstanding first half, the Lady Loboes held a 21-18 lead at the intermission.  But an inspired Rangerette team turned the table on the Green in the third period.

Candace Swarb drained a three-point shot in the opening seconds of the second half, and Kym Madrid added a free throw at the 6:05 mark in the period to give MHS a 25-24 lead.

"That shot was a huge confidence builder for Candace, and I am really proud of her for stepping up and taking it." Thaggard said.

However, that would be the only points the Ladies could muster as Greenwood outscored MHS 14-4 in the third period, taking a 32-25 lead into the final 8 minutes.

Chelsea Cartwright sank a dinger from 3-point range to begin the fourth period, and later evened the game at 35-35 on a field goal with 3:51 to play in the game.

With only 2:36 remaining in the game, Greenwood Coach John Paul called a timeout to set a play.  During the break Coach Thaggard countered with her own strategy, moving Dina Ortiz into the post position.

The Rangerettes had forced the ball inside the entire second half, and saddled Catherine Cutbirth with four personal fouls.

"We switched Catherine and Dina during the timeout," Coach Thaggard said.  "I wanted her to establish her position and take the charge."

It appeared as if the Green had been in the Greenwood huddle, as Ashley Unger, the Rangerettes leading scorer, took the ball inside immediately.

On the play Unger attempted to draw the shooting foul on Ortiz with a power move to the basket, but was called on the charge instead.  The ball went over to Monahans with 2:02 to play.

"I was so proud of the girls for executing the play just like we called it," Coach Thaggard said.  "It took a lot of character for Dina to stand in there and take the charge."

The Lady Loboes had shot opportunities down the stretch, but simply could not get them to fall.

"We played super team ball and passed the ball well looking for shots," Thaggard said.  "But we took selective shots and they just didn't fall for us."

Unger scored her tenth point of the night with 31 seconds to play in the game to give Greenwood a 37-35 lead.

Coach Thaggard used a time out to set a play at the 27 second mark on the game clock, and once again the Ladies came up short on their shot attempt.

MHS was force to foul Rashunda Smith with only 5 seconds remaining, sending her to the free throw line.  Smith missed the front end of the free throw attempt, and MHS came down with the rebound.

The Ladies made a frantic attempt to push the ball up court, but the Green turned the ball over going out of bounds with one second left on the clock.

The Rangerettes escaped with a two point win on the road, but more importantly took a huge step forward in the district race.

"We played our hearts out," Thaggard said.  "There is just no quit in these girls, and you can't count them out."

Jordan Latham led MHS with 10 points on the night.  Cutbirth accounted for 7 points, followed by Cartwright with 6, Swarb and Ortiz each had 5, and Kym Madrid finished with 2 points.

Monahans travels to Lamesa Friday for a playoff type showdown with the Lady Tor's.

Lamesa gave MHS a little help Tuesday night, as they knocked off the Fort Stockton 66-49.  The loss drops the Prowlers into a third place tie with Greenwood.

"For us every game is a playoff game from this night forward, and we still have a shot.  We just need to take care of our business and with a little luck the rest may fall into place."

Keyed by Chino Arsiaga, Senior