West Side Christian’s Lady Warriors struggled to score but managed to grind out an ugly 31-29 victory over Taylor on Monday at the Warrior Center. The Lady Warriors made just two baskets in the second half but shot 6-of-6 at the free throw line in the final 1:19 of the game.
Rylee Scriber hit two free throws to cut the deficit to two before freshman Grace McNabb drained a pair of clutch foul shots to tie the game at 29-29 with 26.4 seconds remaining.
The Lady Tigers drew a foul on the other end but missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Scriber came up with the loose ball rebound and was fouled in the backcourt with 10.8 left. Scriber calmly sank the first throw and, after a timeout, netted the second for a 31-29 lead.
Taylor struggled to get a good look and called a timeout with 4.8 ticks on the clock. Inbounding from the side, the Lady Tigers rushed a 3-pointer that wasn’t close as time expired.
“We did not shoot the ball well tonight. That was probably the worst shooting night we’ve had,” said West Side coach Randall Miller. “To grind it out on defense a little bit, try to trap a little bit, that is a very inexperienced basketball team on the floor. To be able to steal one like that is big for them.”
Miller affectionately referred to the win as a “grind” several times after the game. The Lady Warriors were tied 15-15 at the half but the Lady Tigers built a 24-17 advantage midway in the third and led 26-19 going into the fourth.
“We were down six or seven for a long stretch. We weren’t really doing much in rhythm offensively,” said Miller. “Just to be able to keep it close enough to maybe make a couple of plays, just to kind of grind it out. We talked about, coming in, win or lose, playing these kinds of teams makes us better. It’s November, we’re trying to get better.”
The deficit was 28-21 midway in the fourth before Brooklin Pitard scored on a pair of drives to the basket, cutting the margin to 28-25 with 2:27 left. Skyler Millsap hit a free throw for Taylor, which contributed to its own demise with misses at the line and under the basket.
Scriber and Pitard combined for 27 of their team’s 31 points. Scriber scored 16, including 10 in the first half. Pitard finished with 11 as the Lady Warriors improved to 4-3 on the season.
Miller pointed out the defensive effort of Abby Sipes, who chased the Taylor point guard throughout the game.
The Lady Tigers fell to 0-4 and were led by Millsap and Leslie Goodner with nine points apiece. Tori Bradford added eight.