by Ryan Mosher
New Lebanon girls basketball coach Mike Springer was impressed with the basketball his team played in the second half of their sectional game on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the Lady Tigers were already down by as many as 16 points when the second half rolled around.
New Lebanon, the # 8 seed in the Class D Sectionals, trailed 26-14 at the intermission against the #9 seed North Warren. The Lady Tigers would not give up, though, and managed to match the Cougars point for point in the third quarter and set the stage for the final quarter. The 11 point difference may have seemed like a gap too large to close, but New Lebanon would find a way.
The Lady Tigers came roaring back in that final 8 minutes, playing tough defense and not allowing their opponent to score. Senior Jessica Colon began the quarter by knocking down a three-pointer. That would set the tone for the Lady Tigers as they continued to cut into the Cougar lead. Colon would score 8 of her 11 points in the quarter to lead New Lebanon back, but it would be Junior Hannah Springer who would tie the game at 39-39, with just six seconds left to play, to force overtime.
In overtime, New Lebanon’s Geneva Furlano put the Lady Tigers up 41-39 with 2:19 to play when she connected on two free throws. North Warren would close that to 41-40 when they hit one of two free throws just a few seconds later. Hannah Springer got another chance to help her team in a tight spot when she was sent to the foul line with :42 to play. She hit one of two, giving New Lebanon a 42-40 lead. Unfortunately for the Lady Tigers, North Warren’s Ashley Schloss connected on a three-pointer with :20 to go to give North Warren the 43-40 lead. The Cougars then stole the inbound pass and added one more free throw to win the game 44-42.
Geneva Furlano led the way for New Lebanon with 18 points, while Jessica Colon added 11 and Hannah Springer chipped in 9 points. New Lebanon ends its season with a 5-16 overall record.