The West Lincoln Lady Bears put their Region 7-2A undefeated streak on the line Tuesday night as they hosted Loyd Star Lady Hornets. The Lady Hornets pulled the upset, defeating the Lady Bears by a final score of 31-30.

In a game riddled with mistakes and turnovers, it came down to which team could cause the other to make the final mistake of the game. Catching a Lady Bears’ inbound pass, the Lady Hornets did just that. The whole gym erupted as Lady Hornets junior Meagan Poole caught the inbound pass, spun around and connected with a jump shot to seal the victory.

“I was hoping I was going to make the shot, but I didn’t know how much time was left on the clock,” Poole said. “I just turned and shot it really quick, but I was really nervous.”

The she-bears hit a seven-point scoring drive to start off the game. It took until one-minute left in the first for the Lady Hornets to finally get one of their shots through the net, and the Lady Bears led 7-5 going to the second quarter.

The second period opened with Lady Hornets sophomore Taylor Smith hitting both of her charity shots to tie the game up. The tie didn’t last long, as Lady Bears junior Megan Gerald pressed down the court to hit a layup. Although the Lady Hornets managed to take advantage of turnovers, the Lady Bears led 16-11 at halftime.

The third period opened the same way the second period did, with ties and lead changes. Although both teams had several mental mistakes as time passed on, the Lady Bears managed to lead 24-22 going into the final frame.

Neither team was able to get many shots to drop throughout the fourth. Needing one last good play, and just four seconds to do it, Poole caught the Lady Bears’ inbounds pass, spun around and made the basket as the buzzer was sounding.

“I was proud of our work, our defensive game was good. But we got sloppy and couldn’t make baskets,” Lady Hornets junior Sarah Britt said. “People didn’t give us a chance. They thought we were going to be blown out, but we proved them wrong.”

The win moves the Lady Hornets to 4-3 in Region 7-2A with 15-7 overall record.

The loss drops the Lady Bears to 6-1 in Region 7-2A — their first loss — and 15-7 overall.

“We got what we deserved,” Lady Bears coach Brooks Smith said.

The Lady Bears had two players shoot double digits.

Sophomore Taylor Smith led the Lady Hornets with nine points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Junior Sarah Britt followed with seven points, three rebounds and one assist. Poole shot six points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists. Sophomore Carly Beth Wallace made four points and one assist. Junior Christie Patterson had three points, six rebounds, three steals and three assists. Sophomore Malori Cade hit two points and three rebounds. Senior Marley Poole finished with three rebounds.

Junior Megan Gerald netted 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Junior Katelyn Dickerson also netted 10 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Junior Skylar Hall shot five points, two rebounds, three steals and one assist. Junior Paige Shedd made two points, and sophomore Bailey Wilson also made two points, four rebounds and two steals. Freshman Brittany Sturkey finished with one point and seven rebounds. Junior Elizabeth Stogner fished with one rebound, two assists and one steal.

West Lincoln will take on Region 7-2A Bogue Chitto on Friday. Loyd Star will take on Region 7-2A Amite County the same night.

The Daily Leader sought to interview the top-performing players from West Lincoln, but West Lincoln coach Brooks Smith has prohibited his team from speaking to the press.

Story by Dave Linton