Fayetteville Ramay took over sole possession of first place in the Northwest Arkansas Conference standings as the Lady Indians defeated Springdale George 45-34 Thursday.
The win avenged an earlier season loss to the Lady Wranglers (8-2) and gives the Lady Indians (9-1) a one game lead.
The Lady Indians trailed by at halftime and used a 17-6 run in the fourth period to pull away for the win.
“Defense and rebounding were key in the second half,” Ramay coach Liz Caudle said. “It allowed us to get out in transition and make some plays. George is such a great rebounding team, so that was an area we had to improve ion n the second half to have a chance to win.
“Free throw shooting was huge in the fourth quarter. I was pleased with our focus in finishing late in the game, and I was proud of our energy.”
There are still eight games left in the regular season and Ramay will still have to finish strong to just finish in the top four and advance to the regional.
“Every week is a big week in this conference,” Caudle said. “Teams are so close, only separated by a game two from each other. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night. We have to continue to focus on defending, and we must improve our rebounding to be successful down the stretch.
“It is very important we maintain strong focus in each game ahead. We have talked all year that we must focus on the next game on the schedule, staying together and nothing else.”
Kierraa Lang scored 20 points against George while Deshundra Morgan added 15. But Caudle said it has been a total team effort that has the Lady Indians in first place.
“We have had great energy and the girls have really stayed together through each game,” Caudle said. “Someone different has stepped up each game, which has been huge as we have dealt with different people missing games for injuries and illnesses lately.”
Ramay Indians
The Indians are also in the thick of the title race and they have a pair of critical games this week against Black and Central.
“We have two huge games this week, both against top four teams in the conference,” Ramay coach Jordan Rose said. “We host Black, who has given us one of our three losses on the year. I really feel like our guys have been looking forward to this game since our loss, as they feel like we didn’t compete at our best in that game.
“On Thursday, we play at Central, who is tied with us for second in the conference right now.”
In seven games since Christmas break, Ramay has had five different players lead the team in scoring. Ramay’s bench goes 11 deep and that has been a plus late in games, Rose said.
“Against George on Thursday night, the key to our win was simply the resiliency of our players and their choice to play hard and play together,” Rose said. “Down the stretch, Payton Willis and Tyson Morris made some big plays offensively, and Jayden Hampton stepped up and made the two free throws with :05 seconds left to get the win.
“ J.J. Rainey was a key contributor on the defensive end, and Josh Breathitt did an outstanding job rebounding down the stretch.”