Shayland French hits the game winning free throws in third place game vs. Haven.

by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — Shayland French hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left, and Wellington emerged with a hard fought 40-38 win over Kingman in the Haven Tournament Saturday.

The win gave them third place in the tournament after a close loss on Friday to Cheney. The Crusaders are 9-4.

The game was close throughout with both teams having spurts of offense. But both teams also played tough defense and didn’t allow many points. Neither team could ever take control, though Kingman seemed poised to late in the game.

Kingman went up by five to start the final quarter, but missed several foul shots even as the Lady Crusaders were getting in foul trouble. Tayland French fouled out, and Lauryn Snipes had four fouls late in the game.

Taylan French drives to the hoop in second half.

Snipes hit two 3-pointers in the final quarter to help get Wellington back within striking distance. Her three with two minutes left gave Wellington its first lead in the second half at 38-36. Kingman scored again to tie the game with a minute and a half left. Both teams had possessions but could not cash in. Wellington had turnovers and Kingman missed shots.

With Tayland French fouled out,  Jacelyn Buck had two big rebounds in the final minute that gave the Lady Crusaders another possession.  Shayland French was fouled as she drove to the basket, and hit both free throws to give the Crusaders a two-point lead.

MeKenna Adams gets in a tie-up with a Kingman player.

She and Snipes were the only Lady Crusaders to score in the second half. Snipes had 10 in the fourth quarter, and six in the third. She finished the game with 20.

Kingman’s Shyann Jackson gave the Crusaders trouble, and had seven of her 17 points in the second half.

When it seemed Kingman might pull away in the second half, the Lady Eagles suddenly had trouble hitting free throws. They missed all five attempts in the third quarter and were 2 of 6 in the fourth.

Snipes was 4 of 5 in the second half.

Shayland French had only four points in the second half but finished with 13. Avery Rusk had a 3-pointer in the second quarter, and Tayland French had one point.

Kingman had been 9-0 entering the tournament, but lost in both the semis and in the third place game to Wellington.

Wellington head girls basketball coach Eric Adams was very happy with the team’s two wins, and took the 54-47 loss to Cheney from Friday in stride.

The Crusaders had a last second shot from Snipes to win Thursday over Rose Hill, which has become a rival.

He didn’t think there was much of an emotional hangover from that game on Friday, but credited Cheney with playing hard nosed defense and executing a full court press well. Wellington was in that game, and the score was tied halfway through the final quarter, but Cheney managed to pull way down the stretch and take a seven-point win.

He was almost expecting a letdown after that game, but Wellington played well against Kingman.

The weekend was one of the toughest stretches so far, he said, and they will be taking Monday off and regroup Tuesday for practice. Wellington won’t play until the El Dorado game on Friday which is also basketball homecoming. Also, remember the coronation will be between the girls and boys games this year instead of afterwards.

“Our offense is still not always clicking,” Adams said. “But our defense clamped down. To hold them to 38 points is good.”

Adams praised the play of Shayland French, calling her a very steady player.

He was concerned with Tayland French fouled out, but was happy with the way Buck filled in.

He said she is one of the best defenders, and does not get a lot of stats, but she does get rebounds and steals when needed.

In other games, Saturday.

Seventh place — Haven 41, Nickerson 40

Fifth place — Garden Plain 48, Rose Hill 40

Championship — Goddard 44, Cheney 40.

Third place game: Wellington 40 Kingman 36 

Wellington — L. Snipes 18, S. French 13, A. Rusk 3, M. Adams 3.

Kingman — S. Jackson 18, B. Bradshaw 10, B. Bangart 6, S. Bangert 2, B. Garrison 2.

Semifinals: 

Cheney 54 Wellington 47

Cheney — H. Albers 19, K. Smith 13, K. Campbell 8, E. Monson 8, M. Freund 4, K. Higgins 2

Wellington — S. French 19, A. Rusk 18, L. Snipes 7, T. French 3

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