Lauryn Snipes vies for a loose ball amongst Conway Springs defenders Tuesday.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Putting things in perspective, the Wellington girls beat Kingman by five points in the season opener in 2015 and went on to finish third place in the Class 4A Div. 1 state tournament.

Wellington defeated Conway Springs 46-39 in its season opener at the Kingman Eagle Classic Tournament Tuesday. It was a grind of a game that saw the Lady Dukes behind for the bulk of the contest. Wellington had to outscore Conway Springs 21-11 in the fourth quarter to stave off the upset.

“Am I happy? Well, let’s just say we have a lot of work to do,” said Eric Adams, Wellington head girls basketball coach. “I just told the girls to not get all freaked out over this game. We have a long season in front of us.”

Wellington was down 28-25 at the end of three quarters and didn’t take a lead in the second half until 6:54 in the fourth when Avery Rusk made a steal, layup and free throw thereafter to put the Lady Dukes in front 30-28.

Even then the Lady Dukes could not shake off the upset-minded Cardinals, who was holding a one-point lead with a little more than two minutes to play. But Wellington would go on an eight-point run and led 42-35 with a minute to play.

Down the stretch, Rusk was put on the foul line four different occasions. Rusk didn’t exactly tear it up at the free throw line, but she made enough, going 6 of 13 down the stretch to help Wellington clinch victory.

Wellington survives a horrid shooting night, and Lauryn Snipes faced foul trouble all night. They also survived an impressive 3-2 zone defense that kept the Crusaders ineffective inside.

“In the first half we were hitting brick walls,” Adams said. “But in the second half, we did a better job finding the gaps.”

Wellington opened auspiciously enough, taking a 13-4 first-quarter lead. But Conway Springs would then go on a 15-5 run to take a 19-18 lead at the half.

The third quarter saw Conway Springs outscore Wellington 9-7 to lead by three going into the fourth quarter.

Snipes, who fouled out with about a minute to play, still led Wellington with 16 points. Avery Rusk followed with 14 and Shayland French scored 12.

Wellington battles Haven Friday at 3 p.m. in the second round of the Kingman tournament.

Wellington 46 Conway Springs 39

Wellington 13 5 7 21— 46

C. Springs 9 10 9 11— 39

Wellington: T. French 4, Snipes 16, S. French 12, Rusk 14. Total 12 (1) 19-35 46.

Conway Springs: Drouhard 1, Bellar 9, Ebenkamp 8, Curry 2, Pauly 2, J. Pauly 4, Koester 13. Total 13 (2) 7-22 39.

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