HAMPTON – South Greene made a much-anticipated trip to Hampton on Friday night and got into a knock-down, drag-out fight that ended with the Lady Rebels taking a 61-56, double-overtime win over their Region 1-2A rivals.
“It’s big to win these on the road. Conference games on the road are extremely important to win. This one would’ve been a hard pill to swallow if we lost. It was a tale of two tapes. The game was different for us in the first half and second half. I’m really proud of the team for stepping up to the adjustments we made at halftime. They really stepped up the aggression and put the heat back on them,” Lady Rebels Head Coach Stephen Gregg said.
The game somehow exceeded expectations. After last year’s wars, everyone expected both teams to remain as two top contenders. Friday night would determine if South Greene could hang with Hampton as most thought Hampton would run away with a victory on their home court. The Lady Rebels not only hung around, but stole the win.
“You always know when you come up here you’ve got to play. I used to always say you have to play your best, but tonight was not our best. But our intensity stepped up and that’s what we’ll take from this game,” Coach Gregg explained.
South Greene struck first, but trailed for the entire game after that until the 30-second mark of the fourth quarter. They battled from behind and battled foul trouble with Kortnei Bailey sitting for the majority of the first half and somehow still found the will to pull out a gutsy win. “She was definitely a big part of our offense that was missing,” Gregg expressed.
Hampton had won two-straight over South Greene dating back to last season. The Lady Bulldogs ended their long-standing winning streak over conference competitors and stopped them from going for a three-peat in the district championship game. For the Rebels, this was a win they wanted badly.
Without Madison Hensley’s 21 points and great work on defense, the win wouldn’t have been possible. She was joined in double figures by Ari Hoese with 13, Natalie Foshie with 11, and Kortnei Bailey with 10.
With tonight’s win and West Greene’s loss, the Lady Rebels hold solo possession of the top spot in the District 1-2A standings at 2-0 through the first week of conference games.
“We feel blessed to leave here with a win. Very rarely do you come up here and win at Hampton. This is big for the conference for us,” Gregg mentioned.
The scoreboard suggests South Greene had no trouble scoring, but that wasn’t the case. The Lady Rebels couldn’t buy a bucket in the first quarter and struggled to get shots to fall through the entire first half. Natalie Foshie secured a layup on their first shot attempt after the tip off, but they’d go seven-straight minutes without a bucket until she nailed a three pointer with 55 seconds to go.
Hampton’s balanced scoring had them ahead 8-5 after one quarter. Five different players scored in the first.
The first-quarter fouling put South Greene in a tough spot. Bailey quickly picked up a pair of fouls and sat for a long period of time. Hampton reached the foul line eight times, but luckily only shot 2-of-8 from the line.
After Foshie scored everything in the first, Madison Hensley took over in the second and scored all seven of their points. The Lady Bulldogs managed to outscore her and held an 18-12 lead at halftime. “She’s a catalyst. She’s our floor general and she plays bigger than her size. She gets beat up every night. She’s bruised and battered,” Coach Gregg said.
Once Bailey stepped on the floor again, she quickly made an impact. She scored six-straight for the Lady Rebels in a stretch that pulled them back within two points. Ari Hoese and Samantha Birdwell contributed with baskets in the third quarter. Hampton went on another strong run to push the lead to nine, but three free throws from Nevaeh David and Madison Hensley cut it back to six heading into the fourth, 33-27.
The Lady Rebels caught a big break to open up the fourth as Brea Hicks, who had been Hampton’s only player to make a three up to this point, missed two wide-open triples that barely rimmed out. Hensley and Bailey cut their deficit to two with a pair of layups. Hampton went dry for half of the period and finally scored a three-point basket courtesy of Hannah Smith with 4:00 remaining.
An off-balanced putback from Bailey cut it to three points before Piper Helle made a difference on both ends of the court with a pair of free throws and a chase-down block on defense in crunch time.
With a minute remaining South Greene trailed by five. Bailey’s offensive board led to a Birdwell mid-range basket to cut it to one possession. A travel on Hampton’s behalf turned the ball over and gave the Lady Rebels a chance to tie it. Ari Hoese clutched up and sank the game-tying three with 30 seconds left. “Ari Hoese hit big shot after big shot tonight,” Coach Gregg bragged.
An immediate errant foul could’ve spelled trouble for South Greene. The foul sent Hampton to the line with a chance to go ahead. Fortunately, they missed both opportunities. But unfortunately, South Greene turned the ball over with 14 seconds remaining. The Lady Bulldogs missed a game-winning three-point attempt and the chaotic ending to the fourth resulted in a tied game as they went into overtime tied 40-40.
Both Foshie and Smith traded mid-range shots to begin overtime. Hoese and Smith then traded threes. A questionable jump ball call led to Hampton getting the ball in a crucial situation. They’d turn it back over, but Helle performed another chase-down block to erase it. Hensley was rewarded with a trip to the charity stripe after being fouled on her next shot. She made both to make it 47-45. Hensley swiped the ball ahead and fired it to Hoese before she was fouled and sent to the line.
A crucial moment in the game followed. With a chance to ice it, Hoese would miss both free throws and Hannah Smith sank a mid-range jumper right before the buzzer to tie it 47-47 and force a second overtime period.
After sinking the game-tying shot, she immediately hit a big-time three to open up the next overtime. Hensley responded with a big-time three of her own next. Faye Carrico’s transition layup gave Hampton a short-lived lead before Ari Hoese drained a three-point bucket to go back ahead by one.
The Lady Rebels would rely on clutch free throws down the stretch to carry them home. Alexa Gabbard went 1-of-2, Natalie Foshie went 2-of-2, and Hoese, after missing two consecutive to end overtime number one, sank a perfect 2-of-2 to help them reach their biggest lead of the game at five points. Hensley’s steal on defense put her at the line and she made 1-of-2.
When it seemed like the game was iced, Hannah Smith made one last effort to will Hampton back into it with one more three-point field goal. With the margin sitting at three, Hensley went to the line one last time. She put the game away with a perfect trip at the line and Hampton’s last-chance efforts were off the mark.
South Greene outlasted Hampton in double overtime to claim a thrilling 61-56 win in a battle of District 1-2A powerhouses.
“This is when it’s fun. This is when you’re tested right here,” Coach Gregg exclaimed.
Madison Hensley led South Greene with 21 points. Ari Hoese delivered 13, Natalie Foshie scored 11, and Kortnei Bailey had 10. Hannah Smith was Hampton’s leading scorer with 21.
The Lady Rebels turn right back around on short rest to play Crockett on the road Saturday night.
