Loss to Bishop Kelly snaps Lady Tigers' winning streak

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers saw their win streak end at six last week, but regrouped to start a new streak at Emmett.

Bishop Kelly 39,

Mountain Home 32

The Lady Tigers played Bishop Kelly tough last Tuesday night in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium, but came up on the short end of a 39-32 contest, which brought an end to Mountain Home's six-game winning streak.

In a game that had the atmosphere of a district tournament game, Mountain Home home grabbed a 5-3 lead midway through the first quarter but the Lady Knights then went on an 8-0 run to lead at the period's end, 11-5.

The Lady Tigers fought back in the second quarter to tie the game at 12 and 14, and took a 16-15 lead with a minute left in the half, but a basket by Randi McReynolds gave the Lady Knights the lead, 17-16, at halftime.

The lead went back and forth in the third quarter, with Bishop Kelly scoring the final six points of the quarter to go up 27-23 heading into the fourth.

Mountain Home could get no closer than three, at 29-26 with five minutes left in the game, and the Lady Knights cashed in at the free-throw line, hitting seven of 11 in the quarter to pull away for the win.

"It was a physical game," said a disappointed Mountain Home coach Brent Keener after the game. "It was definitely ugly at times, but if you shoot the ball like that, you're not going to win many games. We missed some big free throws in key moments. We got to the line in the fourth but we didn't convert, and you've got to be able to convert them. They (Bishop Kelly) really clutched up at the other end, when we did send them to the line, but I wasn't sure who to foul, because none of them made free throws before that."

Dakota Barrie and Keesha Janis-Gibson led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively, but they had no support from the rest of the team, as it dropped down to two points each from Jessica Liercke and Hailey Belt. Rachel Warila had one point.

Mountain Home made just 26 percent (11/42) of its shots from the field, hitting just one of nine three-point shots,and a dismal 47 percent (9/19, and just 4/9 in the fourth quarter) from the free-throw line.

Bishop Kelly did not shoot much better, hitting 12 of 43 shots (28 percent) from the field, including just three of 19 long balls. They shot 55 percent (12/22) from the foul line.

Mountain Home 43, Emmett 30

The Lady Tigers traveled to Emmett on Friday night to take on the Lady Huskies in conference action.

Emmett had beaten Mountain Home 64-47 earlier in the season at Mountain Home, and the Lady Huskies had just one conference loss on their record -- to Middleton.

The Lady Tigers grabbed the lead for good in the second quarter and went on to a 43-30 victory.

Mountain Home fell behind 7-2 before an 8-0 run produced a 10-7 Lady Tiger lead. Emmett scored the final five points of the quarter to go up, 12-10, after the first period.

Early in the second quarter Mountain Home fans held their breath when Dakota Barrie went to the floor holding her knee. After being down on the floor for close to five minutes, Dakota got up and was able to walk off the floor on her own. She was able to come back in later in the quarter as the Lady Tigers took a 17-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Mountain Home managed to stretch its lead to seven points, 28-21, before a trey by Audrey Pack in the closing seconds made it 28-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Tigers outscored Emmett 15-6 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 43-30 win.

Coach Keener was happy to come away from Emmett with the conference win.

"That was a pretty good second half. Emmett's probably a little tired, because they played three games this week, but it's still a team that puts up a lot of points. I think we really frustrated them pretty well with our defense tonight."

Keesha Janis-Gibson led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dakota Barrie netted nine points, Rachel Warila six, Kelsey Egusquiza five, Jessica Liercke and Jacci Cristobal four each, Courtney Christiansen two and Emilee Schetzle one.

Mountain Home shot 36 percent (17/47) from the field, missing all six three-point attempts. They hit 60 percent (9/15) of their free throws. The Lady Tigers also dominated the boards, 37-24, led by Keesha Janis-Gibson's 12 rebounds.

Emmett shot a chilly 21 percent (10/48) from the floor, including just three of 19 three-pointers. They hit 58 percent (7/12) from the free-throw line.

The Lady Tigers have a big conference showdown against Middleton Thursday night at home and travel to Nampa on Saturday night.

"That's a big one," said Coach Keener. "There's not much to say except they're impressive. I actually think we can play with them. If we stop their transition and break their press, I think we'll be fine. There's been other teams that have played tough with them."

The Lady Tigers are now 7-7 on the season and 6-4 in league play.