In a game they never led, and trailing by as many as 12 in the third quarter, Collinsville fought back to within a point late in the fourth quarter Saturday, but could not execute down the stretch, losing to Highland 53-48.

Kassidy Smith / Photo by Roger Starkey

The Lady Kahoks missed a layup and three free throws, and committed two turnovers, all in the final 2 minutes and 9 seconds of the game. Despite the poor execution, an Aubreeney Brady uncontested layup pulled Collinsville to within three points with 13 seconds remaining.

Following the Brady bucket, Collinsville failed to foul until 2.7 seconds remained. Collinsville Head Coach Lori Billy said there was some confusion about how she wanted the team to foul down the stretch.

“We said not to foul 23 (Olivia La Porta) initially or 5 (Amanda Ponce). Then we said to foul anybody. They just got kind of confused,” Billy said. “It’s a maturity thing.” Starter Lexie Thompson is the only CHS senior that receives significant playing time.

Ponce was the recipient of the final foul. She made both free throws to provide the final margin of victory.

Ponce, who led all scorers with 20, made all six free throws she attempted in the fourth quarter. She was 1-4 from the charity stripe through the first three quarters.

The loss snapped a six-game win streak for a Collinsville (10-12) team that trailed throughout, but cut the Bulldogs (18-9) lead to one point twice in the first quarter, once in the second quarter and again with 1:35 remaining in the game. Highland Head Coach Matt Elledge said the Lady Kahoks never stopped fighting. “They didn’t quit, they played hard,” Elledge said.

Collinsville missed only one first quarter shot, but trailed the Bulldogs 18-9 at the end of the quarter thanks to six turnovers. The Bulldogs trapping defense forced the Lady Kahoks into bad decisions, but they adjusted, turning the ball over a combined five times in the second and third quarter, before gifting their opponent seven turnovers in the final period.

The game appeared to have slipped out of the Lady Kahoks reach when Ponce hit her third 3-pointer of the third quarter to give Highland a 12-point lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter. Collinsville answered with a 9-1 run to close the quarter and cut the lead to four entering the final frame.

The Collinsville scorers were: Smith-12, Brady-10, Thompson-9, Morgan-6, Buettner-4, Scheiter-3, Mahan-3, Frerker-1