Battling to the End
Lady Colts nearly overcome 13-point deficit in 53-51 loss to Williamstown
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CHARLESTON -- Seventh-seed Philip Barbour gave No. 2 Williamstown all it could handle and more on Wednesday night.
But a late rally by the Lady Colts fell just short as the Lady Yellowjackets held on for a 53-51 victory in Class AA quarterfinal action inside the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
Philip Barbour trailed by 13 with 1:30 elapsed on the fourth-quarter clock before mounting a comeback.
A jumper by Izzy Knotts brought the Lady Colts to within, 45-39, with 5:30 to play.
The teams then exchanged baskets before Taitem Jeffries scored four straight points to slice the deficit to 48-45.
Williamstown, however, hit four free throws to reestablish a seven-point cushion with 21.4 ticks left in regulation.
But Olivia Wilmoth hit a 3-pointer to make it 52-48 and after the Lady Yellowjackets went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe, the junior hit another from beyond the arc to bring Philip Barbour to within two points, at 53-51, with just 2.6 ticks left to play.
Williamstown, though, was able to kill the remaining time on the clock to move on to Friday's semifinals against top-seed Gilmer County at 9:30 a.m.
The junior-oriented Lady Colts were led by Jeffries with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Knotts overcame early foul trouble to net 15 points and collect nine caroms and Wilmoth added 17 points.
Gracie Mongtomery had 17 points, Georgia Bunch 16 and Arissa Burt 11 in the win.
Philip Barbour finished the season 16-9 under head coach Rick Mouser.
Philip Barbour (16-9)
Izzy Knotts 6 2-4 15, Olivia Wilmoth 5 0-0 13, Ansley Bolyard 1 0-0 2, Taitem Jeffries 7 3-4 17, Emmah Carter 1 0-0 2, Gracie Wolfe 1 0-0 2, Finley Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Paisley Stout 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-8 51
Williamstown (20-3)
Georgia Bunch 3 9-12 16. Anna Cosner 1 3-6 5, Gracie Montgomery 6 0-0 17, Arissa Burt 5 1-2 11, Maggie Frye 1 0-0 2, Chloe Mulligan 1 0-0 2, Makaela Bandy 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 13-20 53
Philip Barbour 7 10 15 19 -- 51
Williamstown 9 17 15 12 -- 53
3-point goals: PB 4 (Wilmoth 3 and Knotts), Williamstown 6 (Mongtomery 5 and Bunch)