Lady Tigers drop tough battle against Carthage
By Eric Wade
Nevada Daily Mail
Just one day after seeing their six-game winning streak come to an end, the Nevada Lady Tigers got back into action in the Harrisonville Holiday basketball tournament against one of their toughest rivals in the Lady Tigers of Carthage Tuesday night.
Based on past meetings, the Lady Tigers have come to expect tough, physical, close contests every time they face Carthage and Tuesday night's game was no exception as the two teams batted in an up-and-down contest that went right down to the wire before Carthage earned a 53-46 victory.
The Lady Tigers came into the contest looking to rebound from their first loss since the season opener, but Carthage had other ideas, coming into the night looking to improve their record to 10-0 against Nevada. The Lady Tigers got off to a slow start in the contest and it looked as though Carthage would have an easy time of it as they took a 19-9 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Tigers were having none of it, however, as they started the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take their first lead at 20-19. Carthage was able to stay close in the contest throughout the remainder of the half and found themselves down by just two at 26-24 as they headed into the locker room at the break.
Senior Daven Smith quickly began to take over the game at the boards for Nevada, especially in the second half as she finished the night with a game-high 14 rebounds. The Lady Tigers were simply unable to overcome a rash of turnovers that ultimately allowed Carthage to make a 6-0 run of their own to start the final period.
The Lady Tigers shot just 36 percent as a team for the game and Carthage took full advantage, quickly chipping away at what was an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers of Carthage eventually went on to outscore Nevada 22-7 on their way to a 53-46 victory.
Tiffani Long finished out the night as the only Lady Tiger in double figures as she had a team-high 15 points. Turnovers turned out to be a major course of issue for the Lady Tigers as they finished the game with 15, equally their season average.
With that victory, the Lady Tigers of Carthage captured the tournament's third-place trophy while Nevada was forced to settle for fourth. The Lady Tigers are now set to take a break for the holidays and will not be in action again until they head back out on the road for what should be their toughest test of the season against the Lady Cardinals of Webb City.