Lady Tigers end winning season with three overtimes in final game

Graceville’s Lady Tigers finished out their regular season with a 91% winning streaking. With 21 games under their belt, only two losses came from Class 4A school the Rutherford Rams.

The team’s last two games of the regular season included a win and a loss. The team hosted its Senior Night on Tuesday, January 30 taking on the Bethlehem Lady Wildcats. Graceville dominated the game taking a win 54 to 26.

That was followed by the final regular game of the season against Rutherford. The team hosted the Lady Rams playing to the final buzz. The game started with Rutherford taking an early lead 15 to 9 at the end of the first period. That lead was quickly closed with Graceville coming up from behind to earn 10 points in the second period while Rutherford only earned 5. The first half ended with the Rams leading by one point.

Going into the second half, the Lady Rams came out ready to get the win. They tacked on 14 points to their score while the Lady Tigers earned 10 points on theirs. Going into the final period the Lady Tigers took control of the court pouncing on the Rams and earning 11 points while Rutherford only put 6 points on the scoreboard. The game ended in a tie 40 to 40.

With both teams aching for the “W”, the Lady Tigers and Lady Rams went into the first overtime. While both teams pushed on offense, they also pushed on defense with neither earning a point in the first OT. Going into the second Overtime, fouls began to be called with both teams getting foul shots. By the end of the second Overtime, the game was still tied, now 44 to 44. In the final overtime, Rutherford pulled away from Graceville getting eight points including several foul shots. The final score had the Ram taking the hard-fought win 52 to 44.

The Lady Tigers were able to bypass the first round of the district tournament due to being first in the district. They played Malone on Wednesday, February 7 in the second round of District Playoffs in Grand Ridge winning the game 68 to 28. They will play in the Class 1A District 3 championship Friday, February 9, also in Grand Ridge.

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