By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The first game of the new year for the Munford Lady Cougars was a thriller.
Head Coach Steve Poindexter and his Lady Cougars welcomed the Bolivar Central Lady Tigers to the Munford Gymnasium Jan. 4 to continue the 2021-22 season in the new calendar year.
Munford was in the driver’s seat for most of the game holding the lead majority of the game.
But a buzzer-beating triple from Bolivar’s Chloei Griffin snatched victory from the Lady Cougars and sent the Lady Tigers back home 44-42 victors.
The Lady Cougars were in control early in the game surging ahead 9-2 behind a Hannah Burton three-pointer and a couple of buckets inside by Shea Gooden.
Munford was nursing a 9-6 lead as the second quarter began. In a bit of foreshadowing, Griffin hit a three-pointer at the 6:10 mark of the second period giving the Lady Tigers a 12-11 advantage.
After falling behind 14-11, the Lady Cougars closed the first half on a 8-2 run with the highlight being a Harlee Windsor pass to Gooden for an easy layup. Skyler Holland added a trey of her own to help Munford lead 19-16 at the break.
The third quarter had both Bolivar and Munford trading blows with the Lady Tigers ahead 26-25 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lady Cougars had another rally in the fourth quarter taking a 35-29 lead with Brezia Cooper hitting a three-pointer. Windsor drove to the rim for a layup giving Munford a 6-point advantage.
Bolivar had an answer for the Munford run with a 10-3 run of its own. Candice Crews made a bucket to give the Lady Tigers a 39-38 lead.
Cooper regained the advantage for Munford with a pair of foul shots. Bolivar went ahead 41-40 after two free throws.
As the seconds ticked away, Gooden appeared to be the heroine for the night making a put-back basket to give Munford a 42-41 lead with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Bolivar rushed the inbound and raced the ball up the court. Waiting on a pass was Griffin. She released a three-point attempt finding nothing but net as the final seconds evaporated off the clock. Download all attachments as a zip file
