Lady Tigers stay at .500 in conference play

Last week saw the Mountain Home Lady Tigers win one, lose one, and have one game snowed out in girls basketball.

Mtn. Home 48

Emmett 39

Mountain Home used a big second-quarter advantage to down the Emmett Lady Huskies 48-39 Thursday night at Emmett in conference girls basketball.

The Lady Tigers trailed by one, 11-10, after a quarter, but scored 17 points in the second quarter to shoot out to a 27-19 lead at the half. Mountain Home led 38-30 after three and held off the Lady Huskies 48-39.

Shelby Posey led the Lady Tigers with a season-high 21 points and 14 rebounds. Dakota Barrie added 10 points, Rachel Warila scored eight, Charde Huntington four, Blas Lord three and Jasmyn Jewett two.

"It's nice to pick up a win," said Mountain Home Lady Tiger basketball coach Brent Keener of the Emmett win. "Emmett's always a tough place to play, so that was nice, especially playing without Frannie (Hale). I thought the girls stepped it up and did a good job."

Middleton 53

Mtn. Home 48

Middleton jumped out to an early lead, and although the Lady Tigers managed a couple ties in the fourth quarter they never led, as the Lady Vikings held them off 53-48 in conference girls basketball Saturday afternoon in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium in Mountain Home.

Mountain Home started slow, scoring just four points in the first quarter, as the Lady Vikings shot out to a 12-4 first-quarter lead. Down 23-11, with less than three minutes left in the half, Jasmyn Jewett came in off the bench to score seven points and lead the Lady Tigers back to within three, 23-20, at the half.

Middleton built the lead back up to eight points on three difference occasions before Francesca Hale led a charge that brought the Lady Tigers back within two, 34-32, at the end of the third quarter.

Two free throws by Blas Lord with 6:10 left tied the game at 34-34 but Middleton shot back out to a three-point lead. A trey by Charde Huntington tied the game at 39-39 with 3:27 left, but Middleton then scored six straight points to go up, 45-39, with 2:15 left.

Blas Lord hit a trey with 2:05 left to bring the Lady Tigers back within three, 45-42, but Middleton cashed in at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter -- they made 10 of 13 in the final period -- to hold off the Lady Tigers, 53-48.

"I thought there were stretches where we played really hard, played really well, then, in that fourth quarter alone when we'd tie it, we'd just -- it was like we'd fall asleep on the defensive end and we couldn't get a stop, and they'd get lay-ins when we needed a stop, and offensively, I thought we started to panic," said Coach Keener.

"We'd play together to get back in it and tie it, and then -- I don't know -- we just kind of freaked out a little on offense."

Francesca Hale led Mountain Home in scoring with 14 points, Charde Huntington added a season-high 10, Blas Lord, Jasmyn Jewett and Dakota Barrie each netted seven and Shelby Posey scored three points.

Huntington and Posey both had eight rebounds for Mountain Home.

The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 5-8 on the season, and 4-4 in conference. Middleton, Skyview and Bishop Kelly are all three games ahead of the Lady Tigers, with just one loss, but Coach Keener believes they're capable of playing with all three teams.

"We're just as good as all three of those teams, but we just don't play with the confidence the whole game like we are as good as them."

Mountain Home's game at Wood River on Jan. 6 was postponed because of snowy weather.

The Lady Tigers were at Nampa Tuesday and host Kuna Friday.