Lady Bulldogs Rally to Force Overtime, Lose to Sullivan

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St. Clair erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime against Sullivan, but fell short in the extra session during Friday’s home girls basketball contest.

The Lady Bulldogs (13-13, 2-5) trailed Sullivan by 20 points late in the third quarter and by 17 points heading into the final eight minutes, but forced overtime with a 23-6 fourth-quarter run, tying the game 46-46 at the end of regulation.

The Lady Eagles (19-6, 6-1) managed to regroup in overtime and win the game at St. Clair High School, 59-56. It also was Lee McKinney coaches versus cancer night.

“It was a great game with a great atmosphere. Our conference is really good this year and St. Clair did a great job of getting back into this game,” said Sullivan Head Coach Jason Merkel. “I was proud how my girls held their composure and pulled out the win.”

It was the second straight overtime game for St. Clair and the third straight contest that went down to the wire.

“I was extremely proud of our effort. It would have been real easy to lay down,” said St. Clair Head Coach Jena Carroll. “It was good to see the girls fight back.”

St. Clair continued its hot shooting from the outside, knocking down 11 three-pointers in the game.

Brittany Sellers had the hot hand for the Lady Bulldogs, finishing with 18 points on six three-pointers.

Sarah Baker nailed three three-pointers to score nine points.

Karissa Hoffman and Allison Hinson both added six points.

Sam Deason chipped in with five points. Tiffany Sellers scored four points. Shannon Duncan scored three points. Ashley Fuchs and Kayla Klenke both had two points.

Sierra Pryor led the way for Sullivan with 17 points. Taylor Lucas added 16 points.

Demi Reed finished the game with 12 points. Jessica Heinle collected six points. Bria Bartolotta scored five points. Aley Lucas had three points.

Sullivan held leads of 12-9 after one quarter, 28-16 at halftime and 40-23 after three quarters.

“We came out strong to start the game. We hung around in the first quarter by getting some easy baskets underneath,” Carroll said. “In the second quarter, we took outside shots and nothing was going. It was the same story third quarter. I thought our defense was pretty good. We just could not convert at the other end.”

St. Clair made its run late in the third quarter and into the fourth.

“We were down by 20 points until Hinson brought it to 17 with a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter,” Carroll said. “In the fourth quarter, we applied a little more pressure and started nailing down some shots. Sarah Baker and Brittany Sellers both hit three threes in the fourth quarter and Deason had a three-point play underneath. Tiffany Sellers contributed the other two points. Knocking down some shots and getting a couple of steals really fueled us. We held them to one field in the fourth quarter, plus four free throws.

Sullivan got the lead early in overtime and hit free throws to secure the win.

“We got down by a few points early in the overtime and were forced to foul,” Carroll said. “They shot well from the free-throw line. Despite us hitting three more threes in overtime, it still was not enough.”

It was the final home game for St. Clair seniors Brittany Sellers, Tiffany Sellers, Fuchs, Baker and Duncan.