Hunter hits 4 treys, but Southwood knocks off Lady Zs

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Brailyn Hunter

Brailyn Hunter hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 points, but the Rochester girls basketball team lost to Southwood 39-37 at the RHS gym Saturday.

Aubrey Wilson and Lyla Bowers added seven points each for the Lady Zs, who dropped to 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the Three Rivers Conference.

Sophomore post player Alivia Pershing scored a game-high 13 points for Southwood. Freshman Sophia Cline added nine, including five in the fourth quarter. Lola Winer also had nine.

The Lady Knights are 6-1, 1-0 TRC. This is their best start after seven games in at least the last 25 years.

Southwood, like Rochester, has no seniors.

Rochester hit seven 3-pointers while Southwood made just one, but it was not enough. Jadyn Field, who led Rochester in scoring with 13 in their previous game against Culver, did not score after an airball putback in the first 25 seconds.

Rochester cut their turnovers from 29 against Culver in their previous game down to 14, but they had five turnovers in the fourth quarter.

“We’re asking a lot from these young kids, but I told them … if you’re on the floor late in the game, we expect for you to be able to get it done,” Rochester coach Joel Burrus said. “That has nothing to do with shot making or anything like that, but we’ve got to be able to get a shot late in the game.”

Rochester led by as many as seven points in the second quarter, and they still led 37-34 after Hunter’s 3-pointer with under three minutes left before Southwood scored the final five points of the game.

Pershing scored in the post. Rochester’s Jadyn Field then missed two free throws with 1:26 left to keep the lead at one.

A Cline putback with a minute left gave Southwood their first lead of the fourth quarter at 38-37.

Rochester would call timeout with 30.0 seconds left, but the crucial turnover would follow.

Southwood then called a timeout. At the time, Rochester still had a foul to give. Southwood melted off nearly 12 seconds before Wilson fouled with 5.4 seconds left. A Field foul with 1.6 seconds left put Cline to the line.

Cline made the first free throw but missed the second. Rochester rebounded and called timeout with 0.8 seconds left.

Wilson’s potential game-winner from 60 feet away was short at the buzzer.

Afterwards, Burrus expressed optimism based on how the team has practiced.

“Losing two in a row, we can’t let that start to balloon,” Burrus said. “We’ve got to continue to work.”

Southwood made more big plays down the stretch.

“When it’s a five-point game either way, the possessions are so valuable,” Burrus said. “And we don’t score enough anyways to be limiting our possessions down the stretch. Southwood’s got a good team, but we felt like we could beat them. We did. I thought the kids believed. I thought they felt like they could win, and we did do a lot of good things out there.”

Rochester went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 23-16 lead. Ali Field scored on a putback, and Bowers and Hunter each hit 3-pointers sandwiched around a Bowers free throw.

Rochester led by six at the half, but Southwood went on a 7-0 run in the third quarter to reassume the lead. Winer had a 3-point play, Taylor Haecker had a steal and layup, and Cline knocked down a pullup 17-foot jumper to make it 26-25.

A kickout pass from Ali Field to Hope Baugh gave Rochester a 27-26 lead, and Wilson, who did not score in the first three quarters, hit a 3-pointer and two free throws and then scored on a putback as the Lady Zs clung to a 34-32 lead.

But Pershing kept scoring for Southwood. Her 13 points were a career high.

“She played a little bit better than what I feel like she normally plays, what I’ve seen of her on film,” Burrus said. “Yeah, she’s had some baskets against some competition that’s not us, I feel like. … I thought we did an outstanding job on Haecker and Cline.”

Southwood 39, Rochester 37

SOUTHWOOD (39) (6-1, 1-0)

Ella Chambers 0 0-0 0, Sophia Cline 4 1-2 9, Lola Winer 3 3-4 9, Hali Pershing 1 1-1 3, Alivia Pershing 6 1-3 13, Brooke Farr 0 0-0 0, Taylor Haecker 2 0-0 5

TEAM: 16 6-10 39

ROCHESTER (37) (3-5, 0-3)

Aubrey Wilson 2 2-2 7, Brailyn Hunter 4 0-0 12, Adalyn Gonzalez 1 1-2 3, Jadyn Field 1 0-2 2, Ali Field 2 0-0 4, Lyla Bowers 2 1-2 7, Hope Baugh 1 0-0 2, Jayla Miller 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 13 4-8 37

Three-point field goals:

Southwood 1 (Haecker),

Rochester 7 (Hunter 4, Bowers 2, Wilson)

Total fouls: Southwood 14, Rochester 15

Fouled out: J. Field (RHS), :01.6, fourth

Turnovers: Southwood 16, Rochester 14

Score by quarters

Southwood 9 8 9 13 – 39

Rochester 8 15 4 10 – 37