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ALBIA — Halle Husted took a seat next to her head coach on Friday night in Albia.
At the time, the scoreboard told a grim tale for the Davis County girls basketball team. The Mustangs trailed Albia, 27-3, after 16 long minutes against the Lady Dees.
"She came over next to me at asked me what I thought," Davis County head girls basketball coach Matt Zeitler said. "I didn't know what to tell her other than we had to make baskets.
"She winked at me and told me it would be okay."
Husted went from not scoring a point in the first half to finishing with a game-high 17 points for the Mustangs, sinking several big shots from beyond the 3-point arc during an epic comeback against the Lady Dees in the most recent pivotal battle in the South Central Conference girls basketball race. Davis County erased a 15-point deficit with seven minutes left in regulation, forcing overtime on a putback by Hayden Humphrey in the closing seconds before Husted scored five of Davis County's seven points in overtime including two go-ahead free throws with 44.2 seconds left as the Mustangs completed an incredible comeback winning 54-51 over the Lady Dees to remain in a first-place tie in the SCC standings with Chariton heading into a showdown between the teams in Bloomfield on Tuesday night.
"Every game this season, it feels like we've had to fight for the win," Husted said. "Every team in the conference are so close, so getting wins like this are really important. The goal all year has been to win a conference championship. It's a team sport and it takes everyone coming together to make that happen."
Three-pointers by Paylin Lawson, Culee Smith and Husted pulled Davis County back within 31-19 late in the third quarter as the Mustangs went from scoring three points in the entire first half to 20 points in the first eight minutes of the second half, cutting Albia's lead down to 37-25. Lawson and Husted continued to strike from beyond the arc, sinking 3-pointers on consecutive possession cutting Albia's lead down to 40-33 with under five minutes left.
"That's when I started to feel like, if we can get another stop and get another score to cut this lead down even further, things were going to get really tight really fast," Zeitler said. "All of sudden, we started to force turnovers and started turning those into points. At that point, it doesn't matter what's happened earlier in the game. It's game on from that point forward."
Humphrey scored on one of three clutch offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter before sinking a turnaround high off the glass with 1:52 left, cutting Albia's lead down to 45-40. Culee Smith's steal on Albia's next possession led to a lay-up and a foul that resulted in a free throw, bringing Davis County back within 45-43 with 1:33 to go.
Husted's putback with 33.2 seconds left pulls Davis County within 46-45. Hood split two free throws gives Albia a 47-45 lead with 11 seconds to go before Humphrey extended the game, tying the score for the first time on a putback as time expired forcing the second meeting between the teams this season into a four-minute overtime period.
"The battled and we battled. It wasn't like Albia stopped scoring," Zeitler said. "There weren't a lot of assists. It was pretty much attack the basket and put the shots back up that don't initially fall. Our girls are capable of doing that.
"I told the girls at halftime to throw all the plays out the door. We just went out and played street ball. We attacked them on defense, tried to get lay-ups and got Albia uncomfortable."
Husted 3 on the first possession of overtime gives Davis County its first lead of the game. Emma Kipfer, however, answered by scoring a pair of field goals including a go-ahead jumper within 1:02 to go giving the Lady Dees a 51-50 lead.
Kipfer, however, was called for a foul after nearly tying up Halle Husted with 44.2 seconds left, allowing Husted to put Davis County back on top 52-51 from the foul line. Payley Poe tied up Aliyah Hood with 34.6 left, giving Davis County the ball back.
Two free throws by Paylin Lawson extended Davis County's lead to three with 8.8 seconds left. Albia had one more chance to extend the game into a second overtime, but a potential game-tying 3-pointer by DeMoss came up short as the Mustangs completed the epic comeback.
"I've never seen anything quite like this in my life," Zeitler said. "Albia's a good team, especially with DeMoss being back. I was in awe at halftime. I didn't quite know what to say. I felt the same way when we got back to the locker room after the game.
"The only thing I could tell them was that, when these girls get to be my age, they'll be able to talk about this game with their families around Christmas. You'll never see a game like this in your lives again."
Husted followed up a 24-point night against Cardinal last Friday by recording a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double at home on Tuesday against Clarke. Davis County picked up wins in both games, 53-35 at Cardinal and 46-32 against Clarke, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 record since moving Husted out to shooting guard lifting Davis County into a share of first place with Chariton in the South Central Conference standings thanks to an ongoing seven-game winning streak.
"I think a lot of my points come from me driving to the basket, so being out there the whole time at shooting guard allowed me drive a lot more," Husted said. "I feel like I can play anywhere and I can adjust. It helps with a lot of passes to other people. I feel a lot more open."
Davis County (14-3, 10-2 SCC) will face Chariton (11-5, 10-2 SCC) next Tuesday to decide the outright SCC lead taking Albia (9-7, 8-4 SCC) out of contention for earning at least a share of the conference title. The Mustangs finish conference play hosting Chariton and Centerville next week needing two wins to secure the outright SCC championship.
"It'll be packed in there Tuesday night," Zeitler said. "We've got some good things going right now."
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At the time, the scoreboard told a grim tale for the Davis County girls basketball team. The Mustangs trailed Albia, 27-3, after 16 long minutes against the Lady Dees.
"She came over next to me at asked me what I thought," Davis County head girls basketball coach Matt Zeitler said. "I didn't know what to tell her other than we had to make baskets.
"She winked at me and told me it would be okay."
Husted went from not scoring a point in the first half to finishing with a game-high 17 points for the Mustangs, sinking several big shots from beyond the 3-point arc during an epic comeback against the Lady Dees in the most recent pivotal battle in the South Central Conference girls basketball race. Davis County erased a 15-point deficit with seven minutes left in regulation, forcing overtime on a putback by Hayden Humphrey in the closing seconds before Husted scored five of Davis County's seven points in overtime including two go-ahead free throws with 44.2 seconds left as the Mustangs completed an incredible comeback winning 54-51 over the Lady Dees to remain in a first-place tie in the SCC standings with Chariton heading into a showdown between the teams in Bloomfield on Tuesday night.
"Every game this season, it feels like we've had to fight for the win," Husted said. "Every team in the conference are so close, so getting wins like this are really important. The goal all year has been to win a conference championship. It's a team sport and it takes everyone coming together to make that happen."
Three-pointers by Paylin Lawson, Culee Smith and Husted pulled Davis County back within 31-19 late in the third quarter as the Mustangs went from scoring three points in the entire first half to 20 points in the first eight minutes of the second half, cutting Albia's lead down to 37-25. Lawson and Husted continued to strike from beyond the arc, sinking 3-pointers on consecutive possession cutting Albia's lead down to 40-33 with under five minutes left.
"That's when I started to feel like, if we can get another stop and get another score to cut this lead down even further, things were going to get really tight really fast," Zeitler said. "All of sudden, we started to force turnovers and started turning those into points. At that point, it doesn't matter what's happened earlier in the game. It's game on from that point forward."
Humphrey scored on one of three clutch offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter before sinking a turnaround high off the glass with 1:52 left, cutting Albia's lead down to 45-40. Culee Smith's steal on Albia's next possession led to a lay-up and a foul that resulted in a free throw, bringing Davis County back within 45-43 with 1:33 to go.
Husted's putback with 33.2 seconds left pulls Davis County within 46-45. Hood split two free throws gives Albia a 47-45 lead with 11 seconds to go before Humphrey extended the game, tying the score for the first time on a putback as time expired forcing the second meeting between the teams this season into a four-minute overtime period.
"The battled and we battled. It wasn't like Albia stopped scoring," Zeitler said. "There weren't a lot of assists. It was pretty much attack the basket and put the shots back up that don't initially fall. Our girls are capable of doing that.
"I told the girls at halftime to throw all the plays out the door. We just went out and played street ball. We attacked them on defense, tried to get lay-ups and got Albia uncomfortable."
Husted 3 on the first possession of overtime gives Davis County its first lead of the game. Emma Kipfer, however, answered by scoring a pair of field goals including a go-ahead jumper within 1:02 to go giving the Lady Dees a 51-50 lead.
Kipfer, however, was called for a foul after nearly tying up Halle Husted with 44.2 seconds left, allowing Husted to put Davis County back on top 52-51 from the foul line. Payley Poe tied up Aliyah Hood with 34.6 left, giving Davis County the ball back.
Two free throws by Paylin Lawson extended Davis County's lead to three with 8.8 seconds left. Albia had one more chance to extend the game into a second overtime, but a potential game-tying 3-pointer by DeMoss came up short as the Mustangs completed the epic comeback.
"I've never seen anything quite like this in my life," Zeitler said. "Albia's a good team, especially with DeMoss being back. I was in awe at halftime. I didn't quite know what to say. I felt the same way when we got back to the locker room after the game.
"The only thing I could tell them was that, when these girls get to be my age, they'll be able to talk about this game with their families around Christmas. You'll never see a game like this in your lives again."
Husted followed up a 24-point night against Cardinal last Friday by recording a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double at home on Tuesday against Clarke. Davis County picked up wins in both games, 53-35 at Cardinal and 46-32 against Clarke, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 record since moving Husted out to shooting guard lifting Davis County into a share of first place with Chariton in the South Central Conference standings thanks to an ongoing seven-game winning streak.
"I think a lot of my points come from me driving to the basket, so being out there the whole time at shooting guard allowed me drive a lot more," Husted said. "I feel like I can play anywhere and I can adjust. It helps with a lot of passes to other people. I feel a lot more open."
Davis County (14-3, 10-2 SCC) will face Chariton (11-5, 10-2 SCC) next Tuesday to decide the outright SCC lead taking Albia (9-7, 8-4 SCC) out of contention for earning at least a share of the conference title. The Mustangs finish conference play hosting Chariton and Centerville next week needing two wins to secure the outright SCC championship.
"It'll be packed in there Tuesday night," Zeitler said. "We've got some good things going right now."
Continue reading...
