ARIMO — During the first three quarters Friday night, the American Falls High School girls’ basketball team gave defending 3A state champion Marsh Valley all it could handle.
The Beavers led by six after one quarter, trailed by three at the half and by six entering the fourth quarter.
But a sequence of three events in the opening 30 seconds of the fourth quarter swung all the momentum in the Eagles’ favor as they earned a 60-45 victory.
In between the third and fourth quarters ,the first horn blew signaling the teams to break the huddle and come out on to the floor. When the second horn blew, Marsh Valley was on the floor ready to play. But American Falls was still in their huddle. The officials were ready for play so they handed the ball to Marsh Valley’s Kami Hansen who immediately threw it under the basket to a wide open Faith Lolofie for a layup as the Beavers players were running on the floor.
A less-than-pleased American Falls head coach Tyler Shafer pleaded with the referees that he never heard the second horn. The referees disagreed and gave him a technical foul.
Lolofie made 1-of-2 free throws and the Eagles retained possession of the ball.
Amanda Marshall added another layup on the ensuing possession as the Eagles turned a six-point lead into an 11-point advantage in the span of 30 seconds.
“I think the technical foul was real big for us,” Marsh Valley head coach Kyle McQuivey said. “They did not come out to the court on time and I did not know the entire situation, but they gave us the ball and we threw it down court for a layup. That was a big momentum changer for us and it seemed to take them out of things a little.”
Down 46-35, American Falls responded as Lindsey Woodworth converted a four-point play and Sammy Neaman made back-to-back jump shots to cut the deficit to 49-43.
But the Eagles, led by Lolofie and Paige Howell, proved to be too much down the stretch. Lolofie scored seven of her 13 points in the fourth quarter.
While the Eagles picked up their play in the final period, the beginning of the game was something with which McQuivey and his team were less than pleased.
Marsh Valley came out of the gate flat, and American Falls took advantage.
The Beavers built a 17-11 lead after one quarter thanks in part to the outside shooting of Woodworth, who finished with a game-high 19 points.
“American Falls came out and were ready to play,” McQuivey said. “They knew what they wanted to do and attacked us and our girls did not pick it up or work hard enough. Then they finally figured out that we were going to have to play and we turned things around.”
“I think we were finally playing some of the ball we are capable of playing,” Shafer said. “We have always been a good defensive team, but we are finally getting some offense to go with that. There is nothing spooky about playing against those guys for three quarters. I think the gap is shortening between us and Snake River and Marsh Valley and hopefully we can close it soon.”
It also helps that the Beavers are a senior-laden team that has faced Marsh Valley at its best.
“It is really about believing in ourselves,” Shafer said. “The talent is there and we play hard. It’s about having the girls take pride in themselves and not get beat by the name. Snake River and Marsh Valley are good teams, but they have to earn it like everyone else.”
While the seniors are the leaders of the team, it was the underclassmen that stole the show Friday.
Woodworth made five 3-pointers and sophomore Sammy Neaman added eight points to pace the offense.
“Lindsey Woodworth is a shooter and when she gets in rhythm, she is tough to stop,” Shafer said. “When she gets confidence in her shot it helps the rest of us, and that’s when we really get going.” Kami Hansen led the Eagles with 14 points. Lolofie added 13 and Howell finished with 12.
American Falls (5-10, 1-3 3A Fifth District) plays at Kimberly today while Marsh Valley (13-4, 3-1) plays at Filer on Monday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.