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Photo by Jerry Hinnen
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Head coach Jeff Davis discusses strategy with his team between the first and second quarters of Monday's district loss to Chelsea. Seated is Lindsey Lammers with Megan Bolog (left), Ashley Agar and Samantha Harmon standing behind Davis.
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For one brief, shining moment in the third quarter of Monday's district playoff game, the homestanding 2-18 Milan girls' basketball team led Southeastern Conference White division champions Chelsea by 10 stunning points.
Unfortunately for Milan, that moment didn't even last long enough to put it on the scoreboard. An official waved off Ashley Agar's apparent three-pointer for a Milan off-the-ball foul, the visiting Bulldogs would seize the momentum with a 15-2 run to close the third quarter with a 37-31 lead, and the Big Reds' determined upset bid was eventually turned away, 49-44.
"I thought we had it," said Milan head coach Jeff Davis afterward. "They ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the second half and I guess it just wore us down."
But Davis said he had no complaints after seeing his team rise to the occasion with what he said may have been their best performance of the season.
"I couldn't ask for any more effort than they gave," he said. "We played a great game. We were playing a good team and we came up just a little short."
"I thought we played amazing," said sophomore center Allie McAfee, who finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double. "We stayed together and never gave up."
But the Big Reds will nonetheless be forced to wonder what-if after leading by as many as eight points in the first half.
Milan challenged the favored Bulldogs from the opening tip, using a series of McAfee blocks on the defensive end and five points from Lindsey Lammers to take a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. A Lammers basket in traffic, with 5:44 to play in the half, capped an 11-0 Milan run and gave the home team its largest lead at 19-11.
Chelsea would pull as close as 22-20 before Lani Ernst's basket restored the lead to 25-20 entering halftime. A put-back by Stephanie Roe put Milan up 29-22 two minutes into the second half. With 4:46 to play in the third quarter, Agar's three looked to have stretched the lead to double digits.
But the basket was disallowed after Roe was whistled for a foul under the basket and Chelsea would score the next seven points to tie the game at 29.
"That was a huge play," Davis said. "It takes three points off the board; it changes the momentum of the game. It's not an excuse. It's one of those things you've got to play through. But it was a tough call."
Ernst's driving basket with 1:04 to play in the third gave Milan the lead back at 31-29, but it would prove to be the Big Reds' last. Chelsea forced backcourt turnovers on three consecutive Milan possessions, leading to seven points in the period's final 38 seconds, including a three-pointer two seconds before the buzzer.
But Milan refused to buckle. Back-to-back baskets by McAfee pulled Milan back within two at 37-35 with 5:40 to play in the game. The Big Reds would go scoreless for the next 4:33 as Chelsea built its largest lead at 45-35, but a pair of McAfee free throws and an Ernst basket kept Milan within six — and two possessions — with 58.7 seconds remaining.
After two missed Chelsea free throws, Agar narrowly missed a three-point try that would have cut the lead in half. McAfee answered the two ensuing Chelsea free throws with a three-point play, bringing Milan within five at 47-42, but with just 27.3 seconds left.
Chelsea hit one of two free throws after Ernst's fifth foul, but then sent Milan's Samantha Harmon to the line for two shots with 8.9 to play. Harmon hit the first and tried to miss the second off the back rim for a potential Milan rebound, only to see the shot bank in. The Bulldogs hit one of their two ensuing free throws, putting them up five and ending Milan's season.
Difficult as the loss was, Davis said it showed how much potential remains in the program and how much improvement the Big Reds made over the final weeks of the season.
"I told them before the game that we might be 2-18, but we're the best 2-18 team I've ever seen," he said. "We took a lot of strides. We may have only gotten a couple of wins, but after learning a new system and with all the injuries we had, there was still a lot of improvement. And hopefully we'll build on that improvement next year."
Lammers scored 13 points (all in the first half) to share the team lead with McAfee. Ernst joined them in double figures with 10, followed by Agar with four and Roe and Harmon with two each.
The game was the final one in the career of Milan seniors Roe, Brittany Auten, Meagan Bolog, Kasey Splitt and Whitney Farmer, and afterward Davis praised the leadership they displayed in helping the Big Reds through their tumultuous season.
"Our seniors were one of the biggest reasons for our improvement. It couldn't have happened without them," he said. "This team could have easily packed it in at several points. They never did. That says a lot about the leadership of our seniors."
Onsted 77, Milan 64
In Friday's final regular season game, the Big Reds trailed by just two, 35-33, at halftime before homestanding Onsted pulled away in the third quarter.
Lammers scored 26 points to lead all scorers, followed by Ernst with 15, McAfee and Agar with seven each, Auten with five, and Splitt and Harmon with two each.
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or jhinnen@heritage.com.
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