Lady Hornets Defeated by Kicking Mules

At times in Friday’s 35-28 win for Bedford over Saline, it looked like neither team was going to score.

The Lady Hornets (4-12 overall, 4-8 in the SEC) held an 8-5 lead after the first quarter. Nobody scored another field goal until Saline’s Emily Everett drained a three-pointer with 2:02 left in the half.

The Hornets led 15-11 after a couple free throws by Katie Crysler to start the third quarter. But about a minute into the quarter, Bedford took over. It started innocently enough, with a free throw by Samantha Pavlicka and then a putback by Ashley Sperling to make it 15-14. A Saline turnover led to a jumpshot basket for fiery Bedford guard Ellen Hays and the Kicking Mules took a lead they stubbornly refused to relinquish. Another turnover led to another basket for Hays, this time on a drive through the paint. Sperling followed with two free throws and suddenly the Hornets were down 20-15.

“Ball control really cost us in this game,” said coach Jason Pickett. “We did well most of the night, but we lost our focus for only a few minutes, and it hurt us. Bedford is a well-coached team, and if you give them the ball, they’ll take advantage of it.”

With the way the Hornets were shooting, the five-point deficit was huge. Saline's Jill Borowski bulldozed through two Mules for a layup to make it 20-17. But Bedford responded with baskets by Pavlicka and Sperling.

After a free throw by Everett, the Mules finished the third quarter with a three pointer to take a 27-18 lead. Their 16-point third quarter anounted to nearly half the points they scored the entire game.

The Hornets got a great layup from Caitlin Ellis to start the fourth quarter, but Bedford got a trey from Paige Wittler and then a couple free throws. Everett sank a 15-footer and then Britten Clark sank a free throw for the Hornets. Down 35-23 with a minute to go Everett drained her second three-pointer of the night and Clark made a basket to tighten up the score.

Everett finished with 13 points to lead Saline. Crysler had five. Wittler scored eight and Hays, Pavlika and Sperling each scored seven for Bedford.

In the junior varsity contest, Saline won 29-19 with Tori MacNeil scoring 10 points and Randi Bennett chipping in with five.