SHELBY, Ohio — Lucas could have used a couple of extra minutes Tuesday night.
Trailing by double-digits midway through the fourth quarter, the seventh-seeded Cubs staged a furious comeback only to come up short in a 39-35 loss to No. 8 Monroeville in the Division IV sectional semifinals at Shelby High School.
Lucas (8-14) trailed 36-22 with less than five minutes remaining before closing on a 13-3 run. Freshman Morgan Spitler hit a pair of free throws to cut the Eagles’ advantage to 37-35 with 18.2 seconds to play, but Monroeville’s Taylor Reer — who had misfired on three of her previous four free throws attempts — calmly sank a pair of freebies with 12 seconds to go.
“I just told them to keep looking at the rim and cutting to the rim and don’t forget to make the extra pass,” Lucas coach Kathy Grover said. “Just keep putting it up and good things will happen.”
Grover’s daughter, freshman Jessie, was instrumental in the comeback. The 5-foot-9 forward scored all 14 of her points in the second half.
“Her mother told her to get the smirk off her face and get busy,” Kathy Grover said. “She’s our leading scorer and sometimes we have to have her play the point guard. That takes her out of her element, but she finally got to crash the boards in the second half and we got some good looks for her.”
Sluggish Start: Monroeville (8-14) led 3-2 after the first quarter before extending its lead to 19-9 at the half. The Eagles scored 10 of their first-half points from the free throw line.
“This is a great floor … but it’s a lot bigger than we’re used to,” Grover said. “I think we were winded and instead of moving our feet we were slapping and reaching.”
Leaders: Spitler backed Grover with 10 points, scoring seven in the fourth quarter. Morgan Sweat and Paige Arnold each had four.
Jordan Quillen topped Monroeville with nine points. Kara Schafer added seven, while Amelia Dalton and Ashlyn Tommas each had six.
Round Three: Monroeville will play Firelands Conference rival Norwalk St. Paul for a third time in the sectional championship game at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re just happy to get out with a win. It’s do-or-die time now,” Monroeville coach Brad Dunlap said. “It will be fun. St. Paul had a great season and we’re just excited to get them for a third time.”
