FALCON, Colo. (KOAA) — Falcon’s Elyse Gipson hit the biggest shot of the night, lifting her team to a 48-46 overtime win over a gritty Vista Ridge squad. Gipson’s late triple put her at a team high 13 points on the night, while Vista Ridge’s Aubrey Leong had a game high 15.
Both teams came out and applied full court pressure to start the game. For the Wolves, it proved effective as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Falcon was able to get to the free throw line and put in five of six attempts to cut the lead to 11-7 after the opening quarter.
The Falcons amped up the defensive pressure to start the second quarter, turning steals into fast break points. Back-to-back buckets by Cobelyn Weisner got Falcon within a point, but they still trailed the Wolves 23-22.
Weisner had six of her 11 points in the first half for Falcon.
Falcon got its first lead of the game on a perfectly executed pick and roll that resulted in a layup by Mallory Mullins. Then, Vista Ridge’s Ashley Guaio answered back with a triple to put the Wolves back in front by two.
As both teams continued to exchange baskets, the ball game was eventually knotted at 28 with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter. That’s when Arayah Johnson drilled a three pointer for Vista Ridge, only to be answered by an and-one from Falcon’s Libby Klasna.
As the horn sounded to end the third quarter, it was Falcon clinging to a 36-35 lead.
More big shots to come in the fourth. Trailing by three, Leong hit a corner three to make the game tied at 40. Vista Ridge then took the lead after Guiao grabbed an offseason rebound and scored two of her six points.
Falcon’s defense came up big late in the money quarter, as Gipson came away with a steal and a fast break finish. The game headed to overtime at 44.
The Wolves took a 46-44 lead after knocking down two free throws, but with under two minutes to play, it was Gipson time. On a dish from Amelia Avdem, Gipson wasted no time and let it go from beyond the arc, hitting nothing but net and helping her team to a 3-0 start on the year.
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One wildfire in Yuma County reaches about 40K acres, amid windy conditions
Officials told us they believe these fires were caused by downed power lines. The Scripps News Group is working to gather more information and will have a crew reporting the latest updates.
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