Overcoming a 7-point deficit in the second half, the Clipper B girls came back to top visiting Martin County West on Monday, 26-25.
It was an especially solid win considering the Clippers only had a 4-point lead at the break, and starters Taylor McCabe and Mollie Bowman, saved for varsity, weren’t on the court in the second half.
A quartet of eighth-grade girls needed to step up and did.
Late in the second frame, Valentina Rohlfing (above) drained a pair of free shots for a one-point Clipper advantage.
Rohlfing, an eighth grader, blocked a shot on the other end of the court, and Cleveland regained possession with 24 seconds left. But back on their end of the floor, the Clippers pulled the trigger too quickly, and the Mavericks got the rebound with 15 seconds remaining.
Fouled underneath their basket, the Mavericks made the first of two free shots to deadlock the contest at 25, but after the Clippers managed to get the ball down court, Rohlfing grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled on her way back up and made the first of her two ensuing free shots with 0.3 seconds left for the Clipper triumph.
Taylor Wolf sunk the back end of two foul shots to fire up the scoreboard, but the Mavericks responded with three-straight baskets, the last two after steals to take a 6-1 lead.
Back at the foul stripe, Wolf made two free throws. Bowman bounced in a layup, and Kaitlyn Flowers hauled down an offensive rebound and scored, and the Clippers were quickly up by a point, 7-6.
From there, McCabe jetted what would be the Clippers’ only three and followed it with a two-point basket. The Mavericks dropped in a basket just in front of the buzzer and went into the locker room trailing the Clippers by only four points.
MCW scored first after the break. Keira Schipper canceled the basket with a pair of freebies, but the Mavericks responded with a three and then scored the next five points, all after steals, to go in front 20-13.
Flowers drove the baseline for a bucket, but the Mavericks scored again for a 22-15 advantage.
To quote the Magic Eight Ball, it was "outlook not so good" for the Clippers, but Olivia Reinhardt scored from the baseline, and Schipper added a basket. After eighth grader Ava Kluntz popped in an outside jumper, the Clippers were within a point, 22-21.
The Mavericks broke up the run after pulling down an offensive rebound and scored, but Sam Baker assisted an inside Wolf basket before Rohlfing’s pair of free baskets to regain the lead.
The two Taylors each totaled five points. Flowers had four points, Rohlfing and Schipper each had three points, and Kluntz, Bowman and Reinhardt each added two points.
The Clippers made seven of 15 foul shots. MCW also put in one three and was two of six from the foul line.
The B girls return to action on Thursday when they host Nicollet. In their season opener, the Clippers fell to the host Raiders 44-42.
Mollie Bowman makes a move to the net.
Keira Schipper gets set to release a shot.
Olivia Reinhardt runs past a fallen Maverick.
Sam Baker takes a look at the hoop.
Eighth grader Jocelyn Kortuem coils for a shot.
Eighth grader Kaia Sohn takes aim.
Ava Kluntz’s outside basket fueled the second-half comeback.