Heartbreak Lake — Bobcats fall to Bonneville in tight game

Image: Whitney Alvey (#24)

Whitney Alvey (#24) (Corey Burger)

The Bonneville Lakers swiped a close win from the Lady Bobcats Tuesday night, 47-50. The game was deadlocked during all four quarters. Sky View’s largest lead was 9, which came in the second quarter when the Lady Bobcats went on a 8-0 run to go up 25-16. Bonneville promptly answered back with an 11-0 run of their own to go up 25-27 as the half ended.

The second half was just as close as the first, both teams trading baskets like boxers trading punches. Down by one with only minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Sky View forward Whitney Alvey made a foul shot to tie the game up at 47. Bonneville’s senior guard Valerie Buckway answered back with a free throw of her own, 47-48.

In the final minute, Bonneville forward Lexie Stratford came up with a steal that later set up Buckway to go to the charity line and hit another free throw to go up 47-49. As the Lady Bobcats brought the ball back down the court, Stratford again stole the ball with just 5.7 seconds to seal the victory for the Lakers.

Sky View head coach Paul Hansen said he and the team let the game slip away at the end.

“We had a little bit of a lead there before halftime and kinda let it go,” Hansen said. “(Bonneville) was just a little hungrier than us tonight and they kinda took it to us.”

With just .3 seconds left on the clock. Sky View guard Dannicka Webb motioned for a time out, but was called for a foul as she went for a loose ball, sending Eilertson to the line for the final basket of the game, 47-50.

Buckway led all scorers with 17 points and 3 three-pointer, aided by senior captain Megan Tanner with 12 and Eilertson with 10.

“(Bonneville) shot well tonight from the outside,” Hansen said. “I don’t think we had an offensive rebound the first half, and we’ve got four inches on every girl.”

For the Lady Bobcats, sophomore forward Tara Goldman led the way with 12 points, followed by senior center Courtney Ballard 11.

The loss drops Sky View down to 8-7 as they prepare to travel to (9-5) Logan on Thursday, Jan 27 at 7 p.m. Hansen said it will be interesting to see how the team responds from the loss.

“It might be a wake up call for us,” Hansen said. “They’ve been pretty resilient; we’ll be ready to go.”