By Robert Jeffrey

Sun Sports Contributor

WATERVILLE- The old saying goes ‘if you win the second half-you win the game.’ In some rare cases this doesn’t always happen, but the girls varsity basketball team from Sherburne-Earlville can definitely attest to this statement, as they suffered a loss to the Indians of Waterville, getting outscored in the second half 27-19.

The first period of play saw the visiting Marauders invade the Indian’s gym exploding for an 18 points in the first eight minutes of action.

The Indians proving they were equal to the task rallied 15 points of their own to keep the game within a manageable three point deficit. Despite an incredible offensive display in the first quarter, S-E would fail to equal a similar offensive output for the remainder of the game. This type of credit can go to the defense by the Indians making the visiting Marauder team earn their points from the free-throw line.

However, as the Marauders would find out in the second half-they were unable to cash-in on their freebies from the charity stripe. Led by their defense, Waterville tightened the game to a stand-still with a 26-26 score as both teams went to the locker room with the final 16 minutes still to play.

Just like how the first quarter of play belonged to the Marauders, it only seemed appropriate that the third quarter belonged to the home team. Waterville exploded for 18 points in the third- as S-E fell behind only managing to score 10.

In the fourth quarter, Sherburne-Earlville made their final stand, holding the Indians to nine points in the final eight minutes of play. Likewise, the Indians also held the visitors to a nine point offensive production in the final quarter.

That being said, one can remember the dreaded free throws mentioned early – despite attempting 18 shots from the free throw line, S-E was only able to cash in on five of those attempts for the game. In the second half alone, the visiting Marauders shot 2-11 from the line or in other words - 14 percent. Other than the free-throw percentage, the Marauders played near-perfect basketball.

“We did everything we needed to do to put ourselves in a position to win the game except make free throws” said head coach Karen Mulligan. “We left too many points at the free throw line. Otherwise, I thought we played really well on both ends of the floor.”