A scar on her forehead and another near her left eye said volumes about the war Katie Mc- Tavish had just been through. The smile on her face, though, told the real story.
McTavish hit a foul line jumper with 58.4 seconds left to give the Muskie junior girls’ basketball team a 24-23 win over the visiting Dryden Eagles yesterday afternoon.
The victory ended a series of heart-wrenching near-misses for the black-and-gold and finally give them their first ‘W’ of the Nor- WOSSA season.
“We wanted to show them we could beat them,” McTavish said about the Muskies (1-6), who now have some legitimate momentum to build off as next Friday’s Nor- WOSSA playoffs in Kenora loom.
“We worked together well. We’re getting used to playing with each other as a team,” she added. “I’m really happy right now.”^For three quarters, McTavish and her teammates appeared destined to absorb their seventh-straight league loss. Fort High trailed 14-9 at halftime, with the home side scoring only three points in the second quarter.
They fell behind by eight after three quarters, but regrouped to chalk up an 11-2 run in the fourth to stymie the Eagles, who struggled shooting from the floor all day themselves.
“We were more aggressive in the fourth,” said Michelle Mosbeck, who earned her first victory as Muskie coach. “When I called time-out early in the fourth, I told them we needed to rebound and box out better.
“I knew if we did that and kept up with our outlet passing, we’d be okay.”^Janelle Williamson led the Muskies with nine points, including two key putbacks that sparked the black-and-gold’s comeback midway through the fourth.
“Janelle really turned it up a notch,” said Mosbeck. “And [McTavish’s] determination paid off. She started to get discouraged a bit, but she kept fighting.”^Jen Harrison paced the Eagles with 10 points in a losing effort.
Meanwhile, the Muskie senior girls’ hoopsters (6-1) clinched first place and a bye into next Friday’s NorWOSSA final with a 35-27 win over Dryden here yesterday.
Fort High trailed by one point at halftime, but overcame the Eagles’ press defence to pull away late in the fourth—thanks to a Trish Smith five-footer and some timely foul shooting by Rebecca Cornell.
Melanie Hyatt was the Muskies’ high scorer with nine points while Carley McCormick added seven.
Brianne Bartlett netted seven for the visitors while Dryden’s top scorer, Brittany Kamm, was held to just six.
Spikers lose But in boys’ volleyball action here yesterday, the unpleasant beat went on for both the Muskie junior and senior teams, who continue to try and find their rhythm in time to make a run at their respective NorWOSSA titles.
The juniors (1-6) dropped a 3-1 decision to Dryden, with game scores being 25-19, 25-23, 21-25, and 25-20.
The result was even more convincing for the senior Eagles, who swept the Muskies (0-7) by a 3-0 margin. Game scores were 25-23, 25-13, and 25-13.
All four teams will play their NorWOSSA regular-season finales this coming Tuesday afternoon here against the Kenora Broncos.
In related news, the junior boys head to Dryden this weekend for an invitational tournament.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
