After slipping by Notre Dame de Sion in the Class 4 District 13 semifinal on Thursday, 40-37, everyone knew going in that the championship game would not be a matter of skill versus a 21-6 Nevada team, but rather a matter of mindset.
In the first quarter, the Lady Cardinals fell behind Nevada by 4 points with the scoreboard reading 14-18. Mercedes Brown got the chance to shoot two free throws and stepped off the line with two points, followed by two 3-point shots made giving her 8 points in the first quarter. Skyte Wilson also rang off two, three-point shots and made both. In the first quarter Nevada’s Clara Swearingen, Kara Phillips, Abbey Heathman, and Maddy Majors made up 18 points combined.
In the second quarter, the Clinton fans got a spark of hope as the Lady Cardinals started to take the lead about halfway through. Mercedes Brown rung off another 3 points for the second quarter, Skyte Wilson ripped off 5 points, and Briley Wishard stepped up her game in the second quarter by scoring 6. Nevada’s Clara Swearingen and Abbey Heathman scored a combined 9 points in the period. At halftime, the game was neck and neck, the Cardinals with 29, and Nevada with 27.
Head Coach Stacie Womack took the Lady Cardinals to the locker room to get their minds reset and remind them that this is an extremely winnable game.
The Lady Cardinals exited the locker room and stepped back on the floor for another challenging quarter. Mercedes Brown made 2, two pointer shots in the third. Ava Potter got the chance to step onto the free throw line and shoot two and made both of those. Katie Johnson and Maddy Majors scored a combined 7 points for Nevada. At the end of the third quarter, it was 35-34.
Going into the fourth frame it was once again down to the wire for the Lady Cardinals. Vyla Brown scored 5 points, Mercedes Brown scored 2, and Skyte Wilson for 3. In the last two minutes of the game Nevada held the ball and did not let the Cardinals gain possession.
Many fans and spectators after the game spoke of how the high school game needs a shot clock to prevent this from happening.
In the last second of the game, Coach Womack called a timeout as her last resort to score two more points over Nevada and win the game. That attempt from Coach Womack was unsuccessful and the game was lost by one point. The final socore for Clinton versus Nevada's faceoff was 45-46, in favor of the Lady Tigers.
The loss ended Clinton's season with a stellar overall season record of 23-6.
CLINTON (45): V. Brown (5), A. Cardwell (0), M. Brown (18), H. Campbell (0), K. Schaffer (0), S. Wilson (14), Allie Goucher (0) A. Potter (2) B. Wishard (6).
NEVADA (46): C. Swearingen (15), K. Johnson (2), K. Phillips (2), A. Heathman (12), and M. Majors (15).
