By DAVID PIERCE
Osceola Times
MT. VIEW – If ever a team needed a mulligan, it was the Osceola Lady Seminoles basketball team.
In the opening round of the 3A Region 2 Tournament, Osceola fell behind 21-4 in the first quarter and couldn’t quite rally in a 61-52 loss to Salem Feb. 23.
The loss ended Osceola’s promising season with a roster featuring the talented senior duo of Kayla Newson and Jaidyn Dandridge.
The Lady Noles (15-8) trailed by as many as 21 points as the Lady Greyhounds lead grew to 31-10 with less than three minutes remaining in the second period.
However, Osceola outscored Salem (24-4), 42-30, over the balance of the game.
That included besting the Lady Greyhounds in each of the three remaining quarters. Osceola outdid their opponent 14-13, 18-12 and 16-15, but that critical first quarter put the Lady Noles in a hole they could never dig out of.
OHS came within eight points on three occasions in the second half but each time Salem had the answer.
Newson, who scored a team-high 20 points, capitalized on one of her patented drives to the hoop to close the gap to 42-34 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
After a Salem miss, Osceola had the opportunity to trim the lead to six but a three-point attempt missed its mark.
The Lady Greyhounds closed the quarter on a 4-2 run to lead 46-36 after three.
The two-seed stretched the lead to 12 (58-46) but Osceola refused to concede and cut the advantage to nine. Newson drained a three with an assist from sophomore Amarah Thomas.
And yet again Salem answered the bell with a three free throws in the final minute to seal the victory and advanced to play Manila in the semifinals.
Thomas’s three capped the game scoring.
Thomas finished with 18 points for Osceola which shot just 30 percent in the first half, while committing 11 turnovers. Dandridge finished her career with eight points.
Osceola did redeem itself with 60 percent (14-23) shooting in the second half but Salem shot 60 percent for the game.
The Lady Noles held a slim margin in rebounds – 27-25 – and forced 22 Salem turnovers.
Salem’s Marleigh Sellars scored a game-high 25 points, while two-guard Chelsea Hamilton finished with 15 which included four three-pointers.