Lady Wolverines slip by Cards

White River Valley's Alicia Tally (with ball) looks for an opening while being defended by the Bloomfield duo of Alley Gilliland (11) and Siera Fuller during a high school girls basketball game at Glover Gymnasium Monday night. (By B.J. Hargis/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

The Lady Wolverines, now 12-0, 6-0 in the SWIAC, hit 10 of 16 charity tosses in the fourth quarter. They connected on 19 of 28 as guard Kelsey Anderson made 12 of 16, including two in the final minute.

"This was a big win," said Anderson, who finished with a team-best 16 points to go with three rebounds. "It is always good to beat your biggest rival, especially at their place.

"I did OK at the foul line. I couldn't seem to get the first one to drop in the fourth quarter. They just rolled around the rim and fell off. But we made enough to hold on for the win."

Bloomfield, who slipped to 7-4 with its first loss in four conference games, had made 5 of 6 freebies in the third quarter to turn a 26-23 deficit into a 35-34 cushion.

Siera Fuller, who was 9 of 11 at the line, connected on four straight as the Lady Cardinals led 37-34 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining.

WRV had 12 more attempts than Bloomfield, who finished 13 of 16 at the stripe.

"The free throw line was the difference in the game," said Bloomfield coach Kyle von Almen. "We knew that Anderson was going to try to dribble penetrate.

"She was able to get to the basket and draw quite a few fouls. She made us pay at the foul line."

WRV made several key plays down the stretch to keep the Lady Cardinals at bay.

After center Stephanie Fougerousse hit 1 of 2 foul shots, Sam Goodman rebounded the miss and her putback gave WRV lead for good at 38-37 at the 6:25 mark.

Tayler Kail canned two free throws, accounting for her only points, with 107 seconds remaining to give the Lady Wolverines a 42-40 edge.

Fougerousse, who had nine points and five rebounds, then went to the line and swished two with 1:19 to play.

"We knew that the free throw line would be important because of the way they get after you defensively," said WRV coach Joe Pigg. "We hit some big ones, but we still missed too many.

"...But the biggest thing was the way we stepped up and made big plays in the fourth quarter. We really executed well when the game was on the line. It was really important for us to have a game like this, win or lose. It was very competitive. We just found and a way to win, which always is important."

Alley Gilliland made 3 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for Bloomfield, who has lost two straight to WRV and three of the last 11 meetings.

Both teams are done for 2008. Bloomfield will play at North Central on Thursday, Jan. 8.

WRV will play at North Knox on Tuesday, Jan. 6 in another varsity-only contest.

WHITE RIVER VALLEY (46) -- Sam Goodman 4-5 0-0 8, Ashley Graves 2-8 0-2 5, Stephanie Fougerousse 2-6 5-8 9, Alicia Tally 2-3 0-0 6, Kelsey Anderson 2-8 12-16 16, Tayler Kail 0-1 2-2 2, Ashley Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-30 19-28 46.

BLOOMFIELD (43) -- Ariel Fuller 0-3 0-0 0, Elyse Weddle 2-3 0-0 4, Alley Gilliland 4-6 1-2 12, Brittney Combs 1-3 3-3 5, Siera Fuller 5-18 9-11 20, Letitia Poe 0-2 0-0 0, Katie Walker 1-1 0-0 2, Bri Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-36 13-16 43.

White River Valley 10 16 8 12 -- 46

Bloomfield 8 15 12 8 -- 43

3-point shooting -- White River Valley 3-4 (Tally 2-2, Graves 1-1, Anderson 0-1), Bloomfield 4-13 (Gilliland 3-5, S. Fuller 1-3, Combs 0-2, A. Fuller 0-3). Fouls -- White River Valley 12, Bloomfield 20. Rebounds -- White River Valley 21 (Goodman 9), Bloomfield 28 (Weddle 4). Assists -- White River Valley 5 (Kail 2), Bloomfield 6 (S. Fuller 2, A. Fuller 2). Steals -- White River Valley 1 (Hamilton), Bloomfield 1 (Poe). Turnovers -- White River Valley 5 (Fougerousse 2), Bloomfield 11 (S. Fuller 3, Weddle 3). Blocks -- White River Valley 1 (Fougerousse), Bloomfield 0. No JV game.