(Chris Allen/Democrat-News) The Lady 'Hounds beat Santa Fe on a three-pointer by senior Laura Keesaer (14). [Click to enlarge]

ALMA -- The term "senior leadership" is bandied about commonly, but it is seldom so starkly demonstrated as it was Friday for the Sweet Springs girls' basketball team.

Late in a game in which she did so much of the grunt work, like playing sticky defense and banging the boards, the Lady Greyhounds' only senior starter had her chance to shine -- Laura Keesaer making the decisive shot of the contest from three-point range with 2:17 left for a 44-41 I-70 Conference victory at Santa Fe.

It was a grueling clash in which neither team would gain a distinct advantage, evidenced by the 21-all halftime tie and the 13 combined points during the fourth quarter.

During the first half, the Lady Chiefs were plagued by poor defensive rebounding -- yielding 11 second-chance points -- but were kept even by junior Molly Blomberg's 10 points.

Sweet Springs took its biggest lead of the game midway through the third period when a conventional three-point play by sophomore Katie Davidson made it 28-23. However, Santa Fe went on a 10-2 run later in the frame, Blomberg making two lay-ups, to go in front when the full-court press resulted in a pair of steals for buckets by sophomore Lauren Aversman and freshman Gia Baldwin.

The lead changed hands again early in the fourth quarter when sophomore Kristin Jones posted up inside and sophomore Rachel Thornton hit from the elbow.

After four scoreless minutes, the Lady Chiefs broke through on junior Dani Heimsoth's stick-back, tying the game with 3:55 remaining when Aversman nailed a short jumper.

Santa Fe coughed the ball up on back-to-back possessions, the second a steal by Davidson -- who found Keesaer open on the left wing. The senior didn't hesitate, but loaded up quickly and fired for a 42-41 lead.

The Lady Chiefs were unable to make a shot down the stretch, but were kept alive by Sweet Springs' shaky free-throw shooting. The Greyhounds missed five of seven attempts during the final two minutes, Keesaer making a charity with 12.5 seconds to go to force Santa Fe into needing a three-pointer -- one they wouldn't get.

Blomberg finished with a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Chiefs (2-9, 0-1 I-70), who have lost nine of their last 10 games, this one being the closest.

Thornton topped Sweet Springs (10-2, 2-0), which has won three in a row and 10 of 11, with 10 points and 10 boards.