Lovett Lady Lions’ Last Second Leap Ruins Rebels’ Run

The Fannin High School Lady Rebels’ season came to an end on its home floor when Lovett’s Sydney Umeri hit a game winning jumper to give the Lady Lions a 53-51 victory. Lovett led most of the game, however, senior Lauren Junnier tied the game with just 22.3 seconds left in the game. Ultimately the dynamic duo of Tatianna Jackson (20 points), and Umeri (14 points, 4 steals, and a block), was just “two” much for the Lady Rebels.The Lady Rebels struggled early with the outside shot, which was detrimental because the Lady Lions size advantage caused problems in the paint. Lovett raced to an early 7-2 lead but the Lady Rebels fought back to tie the game at seven a piece. The Lady Lions responded with a 6-0 run that put that gave Lovett a 13-7 lead. Junnier cut the lead to 13-12 with back to back buckets. The quarter ended with the Lady Lions up two (18-16).

The Lady Lions continued to pad the lead throughout the second quarter as Jackson consistently got to the cup more often than the Brazilian soccer team, and the Lady Lions ruled the jungle of the paint, causing the Lady Rebels to shoot from outside. The Lady Lions led by nine with 2:44 left (32-23), but a 6-2 run by the Lady Rebels cut the halftime lead to five (34-29).

The Lady Rebels intensity was noticeably higher in the second half, as evidenced by the two quick baskets that cut the Lady Lions lead to one (34-33). After a time out the Lady Lions responded with a 6-0 thanks too back to back three point plays. The scariest moment happened when Fannin senior Brooke Thomas went down with an injury with 2:53 left in third. She later returned and hit a three that cut the Lady Lion lead down to one (42-41) going into the fourth.

The Rebel crowd became quite raucous as the game progressed. There was downright fandemonium when Junnier hit a three from almost outerspace that cut the Lady Lions lead to three (47-44) with just over four minutes left in the game. Fannin briefly held the lead (49-48) after a three by Thomas with just over three minutes left in the game. Umeri had a tip in that gave the Lady Lions a 51-49 lead. She hit the game winner after Junnier’s game tying free throws.

Throughout the night inconsistency with the calls from the referees frustrated the coaches and the fan bases of both teams.