Close but no cigar for SHS

Shawnee’s Lady Wolves came agonizingly close to posting an upset Tuesday night, only to drop a 36-34 decision to sixth-ranked Harrah at the Shawnee High School Athletic Center.
Shawnee led only twice, the latter at 32-30 on a driving field goal by Brittany Stevenson with 3:05 remaining. A 3-point field goal by Jessica Hobbs gave the advantage back to Harrah, 33-32 at the 2:08 mark.
Shawnee followed with consecutive turnovers and Caitlin Holland’s two charity tosses put the Lady Panthers up 35-32 with 21.7 seconds left.
After a follow shot by Kelsee Grovey cut the margin to 35-34 at the 5.9 mark, a foul on the in-bounds play sent Kaile Lucas to the free-throw line. Lucas hit 1-of-2 attempts and Grovey’s 40-footer at the final buzzer couldn’t find the mark.
The statistics were very similar for Harrah (11-2) and Shawnee (6-5).
Shawnee converted 13-of-34 field goals and the visitors were 13-of-31. Harrah was 7-of-10 from the line and SHS 7-of-9. Shawnee posted 16 turnovers and Harrah had 14.
Grovey led all scorers with 15 points, converting 5-of-12 field goals and all five free throws. Stevenson had six of her 14 points in the final quarter. No other Shawnee player had more than two points.
Three Lady Panthers — Holly Young, Lucas and Kayla Thomas — netted 10 points apiece. Lucas, a 6-foot-1-inch junior, also blocked two shots and pulled down six rebounds.
Shawnee led just once in the first half, at 2-0 on Grovey’s inside shot after Shawnee turned the ball over on its first two possessions. The Lady Wolves canned just two of their eight first-quarter field goals en route to an 8-4 disadvantage.
The Lady Wolves, who committed six second-quarter turnovers, trailed 17-12 at the intermission. Stevenson hit a layup at the buzzer, following Harrah’s fifth turnover of the half, to pull the hosts within five points.
Harrah led 26-21 after three quarters but got off to a rocky start at the outset of the fourth quarter by placing six players on the floor. Grovey hit both technical foul shots, allowing Shawnee to ignite its comeback bid.
“It was a well-fought game,” Shawnee head coach Wendi Wells said. “We didn’t come out with enough intensity in the first half. We were a little timid. We got back in the game in the second half.
“Our kids are still young. They have never been in this kind of situation against a ranked team. It was a lot of pressure on them but it was also a great learning experience.”