Narrow Loss Brings JFK's Season to a Halt

With a 31-20 deficit staring them in the face at halftime in the Class 3 District 4 championship game, the John F. Kennedy girls basketball team was up against the ropes in the Celts’ most important day of the 2010-11 season.

But that didn’t keep Kennedy (17-9) from battling back in the second half to take a 44-43 lead with a little over four minutes left in the fourth quarter. However, the Celts ran out of steam, falling to Crystal City, 59-47.

“I thought we pretty much lost the game in the first half,” Kennedy head coach Jeff Stevens said. “All the energy that we spent in the second half was just to get us back into the game.”

The win for Crystal City (22-4) moves the Hornets into the Class 3 sectional game against Scott City this Wednesday at Jefferson College in Hillsboro with a 7:45 p.m. start.

“Kennedy was hot in the beginning of the third quarter because they had gotten a breather at halftime,” Crystal City head coach Ken Jones said. “But we usually catch up with teams in the fourth quarter because we can still run and we see other teams start to slow down.

“Kennedy started missing a few buckets and then they had to start fouling and when Stewart fouled out, that had to be tough on her teammates.”

Crystal City’s Daniece Riney led the Hornets with 21 points. The junior forward is currently averaging 9.9 points per game this season.

“Daniece has always had the offensive skill,” Jones said. “The last six or seven games she’s been in that 13- to 20-point range, so she’s definitely gotten it done for us.”

Kennedy’s Paige Stewart, who fouled out near the end of the game, led all scorers with 24 points.

“Paige is just outstanding,” Stevens said. “She works her tail off in practice every day and I couldn’t have asked more from my senior captain.”

The Celts’ senior captain finished the season averaging 17.2 points a game.

“I think we kind of lost our momentum,” Stewart said. “We had it right there and then we just let it slip away.”