Lady Pilgrims Outlast Winamac In Double OT Thriller!
They are not in the same Conference. They are not in the same Sectional. They are not even in the same Class, but the Plymouth Lady Pilgrims and Winamac Lady Warriors got together on Tuesday night at “The Rock”, playing each other as if a State Championship were on the line!
As the season has progressed, the Lady Pilgrims have started to gain momentum, with the thought of postseason play gnawing at the back of everybody’s mind throughout the State of Indiana. This is the time of year where many teams have games schedule to provide different challenges as they prepare themselves for tournament time. Such was the case at Plymouth High School. After suffering three straight losses to start the month of January, the Lady Pilgrims have begun to kick things into high gear, having won three consecutive games heading into their matchup with Winamac. The Lady Warriors, meanwhile, were coming off a disappointing loss to the John Glenn Lady Falcons on Saturday night. No matter how you looked at it, both programs were ready to get out on the floor on Tuesday.
The Lady Pilgrims would strike first, as their offense would have the ball working quickly around their half of the court at a lightning fast pace, not looking for the quick shot, but rather, the right shot. As the lead changed on the scoreboard four times during the first eight minutes, neither team’s strategy was allowing advantage to be taken at either end of the floor. The Lady Pilgrims would be able to find the basket a few more times than the Lady Warriors in the first quarter, as they took a slim three point lead into the second, having outscored Winamac twelve to nine in the first eight minutes.
The second quarter would see Winamac come into their own at both ends, as the Hoosier North Athletic Conference teams appeared to have calmed down quite significantly after the first quarter. 5’11 Junior Alyssa Villanueva would be one of the main sparks in the first half for the Lady Warriors, leading her team with seven points as she aggressively looked to go to the basket when she saw openings in the defense. Fellow Junior Kingsley Kroft proved to be a force as well on the offensive end, as she was able to put up six points of her own in the first sixteen minutes. Defensively, Winamac would follow the lead of Kroft as the Junior would pull away three steels for the Lady Warriors, helping them build a five point lead at the half, twenty-three to eighteen. When it came to defense, the Lady Pilgrims were not exactly playing soft, as they would be able to amass eight steals of their own in the first half, with Senior Emma Cook leading the way much of the night, totaling five steals at game’s end!
The strategy for the two teams would not change much in the second half, as the back-and-forth continued. As Winamac held onto the lead in the third quarter, the Lady Pilgrims would begin to slowly chip away, outscoring the Lady Warriors ten to nine in the third, making it a thirty-two to twenty-eight ballgame as the two teams entered the fourth quarter. The two biggest sparks for Plymouth would come from Sophomore Taylor Delp as well as Senior Tallulah Gualt. After being held scoreless in the first half, the duo would combine for fifteen points in the second, helping the Lady Pilgrims to more consistent scoring throughout the remainder of the game. The most consistent force in the game for the Lady Pilgrims would come in the form of Lindsay Janus. The 5’7 Senior guard would display her incredible athleticism throughout the ballgame, finding her way to the rim, knocking down jump shots and free throws on her way to a game-high twelve points. in addition to the versatile play of Janus, Senior forward Clare Sheedy would provide matchup problems all night for the Lady Warriors. The 6’0 Junior showed her physicality inside, as she pounded away at the Winamac defense throughout the game, hammering in twelve points, including eight in the first half.
With Winamac holding on to five-point lead going into the fourth quarter, neither side of the gym felt comfortable with how the scoreboard looked. The Lady Warriors knew about the great tradition of the Lady Pilgrims basketball program, while the Lady Pilgrims were not unaware of successful tradition of Winamac. Both squads continued their back-and-forth game throughout the fourth quarter, with the Lady Pilgrims outscoring Winamac eight to four, to tie the game at thirty-six, and send it into overtime! The first overtime period would see the two teams go even in the scoring column, as both Plymouth and Winamac struggled to find the basket. Was it nerves or exhaustion that was preventing the two teams from finding the basket? Perhaps a combination of both as neither team backed away from the other’s challenges throughout the night. When the horn sounded at the end of the first overtime period, the two teams had matched each other, scoring two points a piece, forcing the scoreboard operator to put an additional four minutes on the clock, as the two teams prepared for their second overtime period.
The Lady Pilgrims would kick things into high gear in the second overtime. It was as if the girls had put themselves back in the mindset of a challenging practice orchestrated by Head Coach Dave Duncan, where the kids were challenged to dig deeper to get to the baseline quicker, or dive sooner after a loose ball. Whatever the cause, the burst of energy in the second overtime period would be enough for the ladies in red and white, as Plymouth would outscore Winamac nine to three in the final four minutes to walk away with a hard-earned forty-seven to forty-one win.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came in the second overtime with 2:53 remaining, when Tallulah Gault made an incredible back cut along the baseline, where she hauled in a perfect pass, which she was able to lay on the glass to give the Lady Pilgrims the lead at forty to thirty-eight. The Lady Pilgrims would not give the lead up the rest of the overtime period on their way to a hard fought victory.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI went to Plymouth’s 5’7 Senior guard Lindsay Janus, who was one of two players with twelve points for the Lady Pilgrims, while hitting four of six free throw attempts, pulling down four rebounds, and logging three steals in the thrilling double-overtime victory.
The Plymouth Lady Pilgrims (9-8) will be back in action Thursday, January 21st, when they go on the road to Northwood in North Indiana Conference action, while the Winamac Lady Warriors get back to work Thursday, January 20th, when they travel to longtime rival North Judson in a Hoosier North Athletic Conference battle, a game you will be able to hear on WKVI!
Game Statistics
Scoring
Plymouth(47): Emma Cook-2, Lindsay Janus-12, Taylor Delp-9, Kaylee Dragani-4, Tallulah Gault-6, Kenzie Dejarnatt-2, Clare Sheedy-12
Winamac(41): Aubrey Gearhart-5, Kingsley Kroft-8, Alyssa Villanueva-9, Maggie Smith-11, Ella Gearhart-2, Kaya Campbell-4, Maggie Smith-2
Made 3-Point Shots
Plymouth(2): Kaylee Dragani-1, Tallulah Gault-1
Winamac(1): Maggie Smith-1
Free Throw Shooting
Plymouth: 17-25 68%
Winamac: 12-18 66%
Rebounding
Winamac(28): Kingsley Kroft-3, Alyssa Villanueva-8, Maggie Smith-13, Ella Gearhart-3, Kaya Campbell-1
Plymouth(27): Emma Cook-6, Lindsay Janus-4, Taylor Delp-8, Kaylee Dragani-1, Tallulah Gault-3, Clare Sheedy-5
Steals
Plymouth(12): Emma Cook-5, Lindsay Janus-3, Taylor Delp-1, Kaylee Dragani-1, Kenzie Dejarnatt-1, Clare Sheedy-1
Winamac(6): Kingsley Kroft-3, Alyssa Villanueva-2, Maggie Smith-1
*Statistical Information In This Article Provided By Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff. These Are Not Official Game Statistics*
