The Ram girls varsity basketball team ended a six-game losing streak with a 41-34 win over the non-conference Woodward-Granger Hawks at home Thursday night.
The Rams scored first and led the entire game although not by a wide margin. The widest margin was nine points, 19-10, late in the first half. The Hawks scored five unanswered points to finish the half 19-15.
The margin was still just four points after three quarters, 27-33. The Rams held a narrow lead until W-G’s Alyssa Bice sank a 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play in the game. That tied the game at 33. Both teams had opportunities to score a last basket for a win, but the score remained knotted at the end of regulation time.
Fouls were plentiful for both teams, but the Rams fared better at the free throw line and in the end, that made the difference. All nine points scored in overtime were from the charity stripe, but eight of them belonged to the Rams. Bailey Cunningham made a free throw, her only point of the game, to start the OT. Laurin Lyons made a total of 12 free throws for the game, with five of them in the OT, and Samantha Hardaway made added two overtime points from the line.
Onica Delp was the only Ram to foul out, and that wasn’t until 2:21 remained in overtime.
The Rams and the Hawks came into the game with similar stats and their shooting percentages from the floor and the number of turnovers were similar in the game, too. But, the Rams made 20 of 34 free throws for 59 percent, while the Hawks made nine of 32 free throws for 28 percent.
Lyons scored 15 points an unofficially had 15 rebounds for the game. Hardaway was the Rams’ top scorer with 16 points. Delp scored four points, Izzy Bravard scored three, Ashly Millard scored two and Cunningham scored one point.
The Rams are now 4-7 overall. They return to Heart of Iowa Activities Conference play against South Hamilton in Jewell Friday. The Rams are 1-5 in the conference.
The loss was the sixth in a row for the Hawks, who are now 2-9 overall.
