Barkley Showcase: Hornell avenges early season loss to Lady Lions behind defense, clutch shots in 34-30 victory

Wellsville senior Regan Marsh, middle, drives her way to the basket as the Hornell defense defends alongside during Friday night’s clash at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville sophomore Marley Adams (10) puts up a shot inside against the Hornell defense during Friday night’s clash at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville sophomore Jaylynn Mess (11) waits for a play to develop in front, as the Hornell defends looks on during Friday night’s clash at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville freshman Emily Robbins, middle, drives the lane toward the basket during Friday night’s clash against Hornell at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville sophomore Kaylee Coleman (23) looks to power her way to the basket against the Hornell defense during Friday night’s clash at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville sophomore Emily Costello (12) dribbles down the baseline toward the basket during Friday night’s clash against Hornell at the Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

ALFRED — The Lady Lions of Wellsville and the Lady Red Raiders of Hornell have already met in an earlier clash back at the beginning of January before the Christmas and New Year break came to an end.

It was in Wellsville where the hosts held off Hornell behind a career evening from Regan Marsh to propel them to a 51-48 victory. Since that last meeting, each team had strung together wins in three of the next four games to enter the confines of the Orvis Activities Center at Alfred State for their final clash of the season on Friday.

This time around, it was a much different, low-scoring affair between both clubs, as they battled neck and neck the entire distance. When it was all said and done, the Lady Red Raiders did just enough to come out on top with the avenging victory, taking the early lead away from the Lady Lions with a 10-5 second quarter run that proved to be the difference maker in the end to go on and hold off Wellsville with a 34-30 victory at the Dan Barkley Showcase.

“As bad as we wanted to win this game at this stage, it was almost like we wanted to win too much,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “We lost our composure, but I don’t think we ever had it. I know Hornell brings pressure and chaos, especially with a lot of unforced turnovers in the first half, but that’s what a team like them will do to you. Our youth showed a little bit, but the one thing I’m happy about as we get into Sectional play, is we have this game under our belt. Now that we’ve had this experience, it will help us improve.”

Turnovers became a mainstay through the majority of the first half for each team, and with it, a lot of chances to cash in on those opportunities. Through the thick and thin of the first quarter, the Lady Lions (11-4) dug their way out of it with a 10-9 lead of Hornell by scoring the last four points of the quarter, courtesy of lay-ins from both Emily Costello and Milla Litzburg.

But then, the Lady Red Raiders started a hot streak through the second quarter through Dezi Mount, kicking the offense into gear with a deep three-pointer off a Wellsville turnover to extend what was a one-point lead, out to four near the halfway mark.

In all, Hornell concluded the first half with eight of the last 13 points to take a 19-15 edge over the Lady Lions into the locker room.

“The nerves hit the girls, and this kind of atmosphere creates that internal effect,” said Alvord. “Today was one of those big moments for this young team. The college court got the better of us, and the girls would agree to that. This showcase provides a great atmosphere, and the three-man crew on the floor along with it too. If anything, it’s a big takeaway to not let the big moment get in our way.”

In the second half, Hornell started off on a strong note with the first five points heading in their direction with Leah Harkenrider’s three-pointer from straight down the middle leading the charge. The scoreless run came to an end a short time later, as Emily Costello’s runner to the basket narrowed the deficit to six with under six minutes left in the third.

The basket would help the Lady Lions hop back into their offensive groove through the next 2:30 of play, as they went on to net five of the next seven points including a big basket from Kaylee Coleman from inside the right wing to close the gap to three. They would find themselves with in a single point’s reach with Emily Robbins’ basket, but Hornell closed out the third quarter with the remaining four points from Harkenrider and Caitlin Smith to give them a 29-24 lead into the fourth.

“There was some good stuff in all of the bad,” said Alvord. “We have something to build on it. We were able to get a couple of turnovers our way to make things interesting in the second half, but we just couldn’t capitalize on it on our part. But, the positive is holding a team like Hornell that scores a high amount of points to just 34 points, it’s not bad. We have to do much better on the offensive end to take charge of it. Hornell is 9-5 now, and there was nothing 8-5 about them coming into this game.”

Nine more points were netted in the last eight minute period, which saw Wellsville narrowly outscore Hornell by a 5-4 count. With the Lady Red Raiders finding their way back out to a five-point advantage, it shrunk back down to a pair with 1:18 left in the game with big free throw shots from Coleman and Robbins at the charity stripe to make it 32-30.

With under 25 seconds left to play, the game was put on edge after a late jump-ball forced by Regan Marsh forced the ball to the Lady Lions.

After a plethora of passes, the ball ultimately found the hands of Robbins on her drive inside toward the basket, but the Lady Red Raiders were able to grab the defensive rebound, and force the foul game from the Lady Lions to put the game on ice with two final points from Mount at the charity stripe. Mount, the Hornell junior guard, went on to win the Player of the Game honor behind a game-high 15-point performance.

On the Lady Lions side, Robbins and Marsh led all scorers with a team-high nine points. Costello finished with four, while Marley Adams had three. Off the glass, Coleman led the rebounding department with 13 team-high boards.

The home stretch for Wellsville continues after the weekend back inside the Lion’s Den on Tuesday, as they now prepare for a big intersectional matchup against the Portville Lady Panthers at 7:30 p.m.

“The stretch is brutal,” Alvord said. “We know this going in, and it’s a stretch that will make us battle-tested for Sectionals coming up around the corner. Portville is coming to our place next to start that up. We hope to build and grow from this showcase, and we’ll be ready for the next task at hand come Tuesday.”

Wellsville      10   5 10 5 – 30

Hornell            9 10 11 4 – 34 

WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 1 1-2 3, Emily Costello 2 0-0 4, Emily Robbins 3 3-4 9, Kaylee Coleman 1 1-2 3, Milla Litzburg 1 0-0 2, Regan Marsh 2 5-6 9. Totals: 10 10-14 30.
HORNELL: Dezi Mount 5 4-6 15, Jane Spitulnik 0 1-2 1, Leah Harkenrider 4 4-4 14, Caitlin Smith 1 0-0 2, Lily Gaffney 1 0-0 2. Totals: 11 9-12 34.
3-point goals: Hornell 3 (Harkenrider 2, Mount).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 14, Hornell 14. Fouled out: None.