Thornton comes up big for Lady 'Hounds

Junior Rachel Thornton scored 10 points in two minutes to give the Lady 'Hounds a come-from-behind overtime victory over Santa Fe.
(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)

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"She has the capability of being a tremendous player, and she showed flashes of that," remarked Lady Greyhounds head coach Boyd Jones about the slender 5-foot-10 post -- then modified that comment. "In the second half, she was a terrific player."

Thornton scored 15 of her 17 points after the break Tuesday, including the game-tying shot and the first eight points of the overtime period, to give fifth seed Sweet Springs a 63-53 victory over No. 4 Santa Fe in the first round of the Class 2, District 15 Tournament at Alma.

The Lady 'Hounds needed a difference-maker to win the rubber game of the three-game season series with Santa Fe, the first meetings decided by a total of seven points. Sweet Springs had several players who rose to the challenge, like junior Kristin Jones -- who tallied 10 points during a first half which saw five tie scores and as many lead changes.

The Lady Chiefs went into halftime with a 26-21 lead after closing the second period with a 7-0 run on sophomore Gia Baldwin's jumper from the elbow, a fast-break basket by junior Lauren Aversman and senior Molly Blomberg's three-pointer.

Santa Fe did much of its damage with passes from either senior Dani Heimsoth or Aversman -- who each had seven assists -- from the high post to sophomore Molly Sander in the blocks, getting four goals that way in the first half. However, Sweet Springs stopped that strategy during the second half by dropping junior Jodie Harris into the center's spot of the 2-3 zone defense.

"Jodie shut that off about the middle of the third quarter," Jones said. "Some of our other girls were not physical enough on those, and Jodie was."

Still, a pair of Blomberg buckets had the Lady Chiefs up by nine points with five minutes left in the third period.

While freshman Brittany Higgins crashed the offensive glass for a deuce and Thornton completed a conventional three-point play, Santa Fe clung to its lead on a Blomberg lay-up and two Sander free throws.

Sweet Springs caught up in the fourth quarter on senior Stephanie Krause's free throw and surged ahead when Krause finished a drive to the hoop. Blomberg answered with a pair of bombs, and five points by Aversman within a 71-second span put the Lady Chiefs up by three points with under a minute remaining in regulation.

Jones came up with a forecourt steal for an easy goal, Blomberg sank one of two from the charity stripe and Thornton tied the game from the low post with 13 seconds left. Blomberg's long-range shot was off the mark and the game went into overtime.

Junior Kathleen Tyler, who recorded seven steals and four assists, found Thornton inside to break the tie 13 seconds into the extra frame. Thornton then sank two free throws and a pair of heavily-guarded "No-No-No-Yes!" baseline jumpers, while the Lady Chiefs missed nine shots and committed three turnovers.

"Rachel hit some huge shots for us at the end," Jones remarked. "Rachel's a terrific defensive player and is capable of playing like she did in the second half and overtime."

Blomberg had a game-high 24 points and four assists and Sander added 15 points and eight rebounds for Santa Fe (11-15).

Jones led the Lady 'Hounds (12-14) with 18 points and 11 boards.

Sweet Springs meets No. 1 seed St. Paul in Thursday's semifinal round, having lost to the Lady Saints by 10 points in their Jan. 23 I-70 Conference clash.

"The key to them is their press," Jones noted. "We certainly think we have a chance, but we're going to have to play well."