The Van-Far girls lost their lead late on Tuesday but were regretting the early mistakes.
The Lady Indians lost 38-37 to Moberly (5-5) in the Peak Sport & Spine Holiday Shootout at Moberly …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous website, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
The Van-Far girls lost their lead late on Tuesday but were regretting the early mistakes.
The Lady Indians lost 38-37 to Moberly (5-5) in the Peak Sport & Spine Holiday Shootout at Moberly Area Community College despite going into the fourth quarter with a 28-23 lead. Olivia Dunwoody hit a 3-pointer to bring Moberly within one point and Kyia Tydings hit two free throws with 3.7 seconds left after being fouled near the rim.
Head coach Heather Minter said Van-Far (4-5) couldn’t put Moberly away, but her team wished the game was different early. Minter said the Lady Indians had several chances for shots near the rim but couldn’t convert.
“We’re just missing a lot of easy shots that we’ve got to make,” Minter said. “If we make those easy shots, we win and that situation doesn’t happen.”
Minter said Van-Far thought Moberly would go to Tydings, who had seven points and seven rebounds, when her team was down 37-36, but she received the ball in a spot she didn’t expect. Van-Far also didn’t expect to focus the defense away from Tydings and Dunwoody in the second half, according to Minter.
Mia Faught scored 16 of her 17 points in the first half, making Van-Far take notice of her. Kenya Jones limited Faught in the second half.
“We just threw a junk at her,” Minter said. “She was one that came out of nowhere so we just made our adjustments and junked her.”
Elliott Utterback was shut out in the second quarter but led the Lady Indians with 19 points and five 3-pointers. Kenya Jones had six points and five assists, and Chloe Zumwalt finished with six points.
Utterback had two 3-pointers in the first quarter and reawakened with eight points, including two 3-pointers in the third quarter. The biggest lead for either team was eight points.
Minter said Van-Far needed Utterback’s shooting and for Jones to step up because Khloe Wallace was unavailable. She said Van-Far had enough offense on Tuesday but couldn’t make enough shots.
Van-Far (1-2 EMO) plays at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Elsberry (3-3, 0-1 EMO) at 6 p.m. Jan. 12. Minter said Van-Far’s effort and hard work is there, but making the easy shots is the “puzzle piece” the team is missing.
“We’ve got to make them bunnies,” Minter said. “We’ve got to. It’s killing us right now. We’re feeding it inside, and we haven’t found that touch yet.”
