Girls’ Basketball
Franklin 45, G-MU 43
COPES CORNERS – Franklin freshman Jordan Beers may one day challenge the Section IV scoring record, and she added 31 points to her quickly-building career total in Tuesday’s win at G-MU.
Beers’ one-handed scoop shot on the baseline put her club up 45-41 with 22 seconds left, and those points were the margin of victory.
“We knew this was going to be a tough one especially when the other team has a player like (Beers),” said G-MU coach Jim Johnson, who was denied a 400th career victory – for now – with the defeat.
The Raiders (9-3) had not lost a game in seven weeks and brought a nine-game winning streak and unblemished league mark into the contest. “No matter what anybody says, and I don’t mean this to sound disrespectful to their team, but we got beat by one player tonight,” Johnson said. “She did a great job, and she beat us when we were playing well. We had people with her all of the time, she just made some unbelievable shots. What do you do with that? You tip your hat and hope to get them the next time.”
The Raiders’ blend of team basketball led them to a 29-21 halftime lead. Tanya Barnes, who has led G-MU in scoring in just about every game this season, had plenty of help on the offensive end as Bri Lambert, Miranda Hill, and Blake Stensland all contributed to a 20-point quarter that included five nifty assists. Beers had her team’s last nine points of the half to keep her team within eight points.
Franklin quickly erased that deficit embarking on a 16-4 run to start the third quarter. Beers scored 12 in the quarter, and when she happened to miss a shot, more often than not, her teammates – especially freshman Marissa Cawley – came down with pivotal offensive rebounds.
The Raiders’ Lambert hit two free throws with 1:37 left in the stanza, and Barnes’ baseline 15-footer rolled around the rim and in to tie the game at 37-37 entering the fourth quarter.
G-MU picked up the scoring early in the fourth as well when Kristen Barnes took a nice bounce pass from Tanya Barnes just inside the foul line, and canned the go-ahead basket. Lambert converted a layup in transition after another Tanya Barnes helper with 3:43 remaining to seemingly put the host club in control.
