Richter Rally Falls Short; Chargers Lose in Regional Play, 47-39

A fourth quarter rally by the ACGC girls' basketball team fell short last Tuesday in the team's quest to advance in regional tournament play. Actually, it was a fourth quarter rally by Mesadez Richter whose eight consecutive points in the first three minutes of the final frame got the Chargers within four points of South Central Calhoun at 41-37.

That was as close as the Chargers would get, as they failed to score on six consecutive possessions while the Titans increased their lead to nine points at 46-37. Richter added another score to complete the ACGC scoring.

Admittedly Richter had help from her teammates who got the ball into her hands, but it was the talented freshman who was in a position to score and scored all ten of the Charger fourth quarter points.

The Titans jumped off to an early 7-0 lead before EmmaKay McClain scored the first ACGC points of the game. By quarter's end SCC held an 11-6 lead that grew to 24-13 by halftime. McClain netted six of the Charger first half points.

ACGC managed to creep a littler closer during quarter number three, as six different Chargers--Kylie Young, Alaina Bunde, Taylor Carlson, McClain, Saige O'Brien, and Sophie Dorsey-each scored. McClain, O'Brien, and Dorsey hit consecutive treys to close the deficit to 37-29.

The fourth quarter belonged to Richter who scored her eighth consecutive point with 5:10 remaining to get the Chargers within four points at 41-37, ACGC did not score again until forty seconds remained. By then the Titans had increased its total to forty six points. Richter's last score and a free throw by SCC completed the scoring and gave the win to the Titans at 47-39.

"We just can't get down early and have mental errors," Charger coach Brad Baudler commented following the loss. "We just need to come out to play."

Richter was the lone Charger in double figures with 12 points. McClain added 9, and Young had 6. Young was tops in rebounding with 9, with McClain leading in assists with 4. No one came up with ore than 2 assists.

Neither team shot particularly well, as SCC was 17 of 48 for 35.4% and ACGC hit 34% on 17 makes out of 50 attempts. The difference was at the free throw line where the Titans scored on 10 of 18 tries while the Chargers were just 1 for 6. Free throw shooting has been a strong point for the Chargers throughout the season, but not Tuesday night.

And so the Charger girls' season has come to an end. For the seniors--McClain and Young--it means they have donned the black and gold for the final time. For the younger players, there will be another season ahead.

It was a record breaking season for the Chargers, with the 12-10 record being the best in the five seasons of ACGC history. The twelve wins bested last years's eleven wins and establishes an ACGC record for most wins in a season.

Score by quarter:

ACGC 6 7 16 10--39

SCC 11 13 13 10--47

Individual Charger statistics: (TP-REB-ASTS-STLS) TCarlson (2-0-1-0) Dorsey (3-2-2-2)

Young (6-9-3-0) McLain (9-6-4-1) Bunde (4-8-0-2) Carney (0-0-4-1) O'Brien (3-6-0-0)

Richter (12-6-0-0)