On Wednesday Jan. 28, the Lady Mavericks faced off Stony Point once again, celebrating teacher appreciation. After a rocky start to district play, the Mavericks continued to search for their first district win, but fell short in an overtime loss, 52-44. 

The Lady Mavericks won the opening tip off and brought the ball down attempting to run a play offensively. Although the first play was unsuccessful, strong ball defense allowed the Mavericks to regain possession once again, with senior guard Tierra Green dribbling coast to coast and drawing a foul landing her on the free throw line, allowing the Mavericks to score the first two points of the game.

With both teams continuing to play aggressive defense, the first quarter ended with the Mavericks only points coming from the free throw line, and with the Tigers up 5-9. Defensive intensity continued into the second quarter, limiting scoring opportunities, and after multiple successful offensively plays in the paint, the Mavericks went into halftime trailing 17-21.

“Stony Point put a lot of pressure on our guards, sometimes causing turnovers and also knew what to do on offense to draw the fouls they needed to shoot free throws,” Green said. “We all stayed calm, our ball handlers handled the ball with patience and ease, and our post did great in the paint getting more points throughout the game.”

The Mavericks stepped up in the third quarter to outplay the Tigers, scoring more points to secure the one point lead for the Mavs walking into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter continued to be a back and forth battle, with the Mavericks narrowly holding onto the lead. While both teams fought to gain the lead, late fouls led to crucial free throws and a clutch basket for the Tigers following a Maverick turnover, forcing the Lady Mavs’ first overtime game of the season.

Beginning overtime with the score 41-41, the Mavericks won the tip off once again, but were unable to make the first shot leading to a jump ball turnover. Stony Point’s defense tightened as the Mavericks offense slowed, allowing the Tigers to go on a 6-0 run in the very last minutes of the game, ending the game 44-52. 

“Our team hasn’t really had to deal with tight game situations like this before so it was definitely something that we had to adjust to, it really forced us to be calmer and smarter on defense so we didn’t put the other team on the line,” Green said. “As our final home game approaches I’m getting a bittersweet feeling, although we didn’t have the best season I’m going to miss it as I’ve grown so close to all the girls and coaches. Our bonds are something that I will cherish forever and miss so much.”

Although they could not secure the win, the Lady Mavericks showed significant improvement from the first round of conference play when the Tigers beat the Mavericks by 30 points, and will hit the court again next week on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at home against Vista Ridge, celebrating the four Maverick seniors in their final home game of the season.