Lady Bison Miss 18 Foul Shots, Lose 63-56

The Beachwood Lady Bison struggled against Lake Ridge Academy Wednesday night, missing 18 foul shots and ultimately losing 63-56.

Beachwood cut a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit all the way down to three with a minute left, but a transition lay-up by Lake Ridge Academy sophomore Martha Thompson put them up by five. The Lady Lions hit their free throws to ice the victory.

Beachwood senior Amber Bogard did not play for the Bison.

“She’s our leader,” Beachwood Head Coach Melvin Burke said. “Unfortunately, life has to go on and we’re going to stay united. I’m very proud of how they played.”

The game was slowed down by fouls, especially by Lake Ridge. The Lady Lions had three players foul out in the fourth quarter. Despite having Lake Ridge in foul trouble for most of the game, the Lady Bison missed 18 free throws.

“When you have two teams competing, teams can tend to get overly aggressive,” Lake Ridge Academy Head Coach Keesha Allen said. “Fouls are arbitrary, so when they get called we have to adjust to them. Fortunately, we were able to.”

“A lot of their players fouled out, but we missed 18 free throws,” coach Burke said. “That was our problem.”

Beachwood saw a 17-9 lead evaporate in the second quarter as Lake Ridge outscored them 22-11. The Lady Bison made just one field goal, with six seconds left in the quarter. Their other nine points all came from the foul line.

Thompson had a huge game for the Lady Lions, scoring 16 points and snagging eight rebounds. She put the dagger in the Bison at the end of the third quarter, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch a four-point lead into a 49-39 edge. Lake Ridge ended the third on an 8-0 run and took a 12-point lead into the fourth.

The Lady Bison were resilient and Mercedes Hudson scored with a minute left to cut the game to a single possession at 59-56. However, Thompson struck again with a transition lay-up and followed it up with a free throw to keep the game out of reach.

“We’re always going to play hard,” Burke said. “I don’t worry about that. With four freshmen and four sophomores, our only Achilles' heel is our youth.”

Hudson had a solid game for the Bison, finishing with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Freshman Aneisha Hardin and senior Maya Eddie were also in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively. Freshman Mikah Aldridge fouled out with 3:57 left in the third, leaving the game with 11 points.

Lake Ridge senior Kourtni Taylor had 12 points. Sophomore Monet Saunders snagged nine rebounds for a team high.

The Lady Bison head to Hawken on Friday, Feb. 11, for a varsity-only game. They return home on Tuesday against Independence for a varsity-only game scheduled for 6 p.m.