In a contest of two evenly matched teams, it was the Alliance girl’s basketball squad downing the Minute Maids of Lexington 33 to 31 in battle played Saturday in Alliance. The Lady Bulldogs found themselves behind by 5 in the final minutes before rallying for the victory. Senior Macey Seebohm made the game winner with a jumper at the buzzer to help the Dogs improve to 4 and 18 for the season. Alliance was also stout of the defensive side down the stretch, forcing many Lex turnovers. Leading the offense for AHS was junior Addison Weber who tossed in 11 points. Lexington won the JV game played earlier in the day, getting a 38 to 27 victory over the Bulldogs.
Early on it looked like the guests were going to run away with the contest. Lex came out strong, scoring the game’s first 7 points on a three and a pair of 2 pointers. At the 4 minute stage, Alliance was down 7 to 0. Weber then stepped up for the hosts by making a 2 point bucket and a trey as the Bulldogs cut their deficit to 2. Down 7 to 5, Alliance went on to score the battle’s next 6 tallies to surge ahead. Sophomore Brooke Bailey started the spree with 2 free throws and a goal that put the Dogs ahead 9 to 7. The period came to a close with a deuce by Shyla Salcido and Alliance up 11 to 7.
Both teams would then struggle offensively in the second. Alliance was held to just 4 points on a three and a free throw while Lexington would muster just 6 points in the quarter. Period #2 began with back to back goals by the Minute Maids that tied the game at 11. No points were then scored until a free throw by Seebohm gave the Lady Bulldogs a 12 to 11 lead with under 2 minutes remaining in the half. A triple by Alliance’s Miah Marsteller ensued that gave the hosts a 4 point cushion right before the half closed. The quarter came to a finish with 2 pointer by Lex. After 2 quarters of action, Alliance led 15 to 13.
Five early Lex points helped the visitors take an 18 to 15 in the opening stages of the third. A big three by Weber then knotted the battle at 18 but 5 straight by the Minute Maids followed as AHS saw their deficit stand at 5 again. Another bucket by Weber was next and after 2 pointer by Seebohm, the scoreboard read Lex 23 Alliance 22 with two minutes left in the quarter. The period closed with Lexington leading 24 to 22 following a Minute Maid free throw.
Down 2 heading to the fourth, Alliance began their rally by getting the ball to Bailey who responded with 4 quick tallies to give the hosts a 2 point margin. Momentum then went to the sides of the guests. Lex put the next 7 points into the scoring column to surge ahead 31 to 26 with 3 minutes left. The Maids scored 2 two pointers along with 3 from the line to go up 5. Alliance slowly got back into the contest with solid defense and big points from the field. The comeback began with a free throw by Weber and a Lex turnover. Down 4, the Dogs got a 4 point play by Seebohm that tied the game. The Alliance guard nailed a three from the corner and was fouled. She made the charity shot and the game was even at 31. The final 2 minutes saw both teams have chances. Alliance forced 5 turnovers down the stretch to keep things close. With 16 seconds left, another Lex turnover set the stage for the game winner. A Weber three was no good but Seebohm was there for the successful put back at the buzzer. Final Alliance 33 Lexington 31
LEX 7 6 11 7 31
ALL 11 4 7 11 33
Scoring for Alliance Weber 11 Seebohm 9 Bailey 8 Marsteller 3 Salcido 2
The Bulldogs will travel to Sidney on Friday.