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Big Red stops Monroe Central with improbable fourth

STEUBENVILLE — A bad all-around game appeared to doom the Steubenville girls basketball team against Monroe Central, but Big Red woke up in the nick of time.

Makayla Abram, who collected a game-high 19 points, sank two free throws with 11.5 seconds left to lift Big Red to an improbable 32-30 victory against the Seminoles in an OVAC consolation game Monday night inside the Crimson Center.

“I don’t know how we won that game,” Big Red (11-7) head coach Jeff Lombardo said on his way to the locker room shortly after the conclusion of the game.

Abram’s heroics capped a late run in the final few minutes that saw Big Red erase a nine-point deficit.

Monroe Central ripped off a 14-2 run to take a 29-20 lead in the fourth quarter. Then, the Seminoles shot themselves in the foot.

“We were not supposed to take any shots,” Monroe Central (11-10) head coach Troy Baker said. “We were not supposed to take any shots, but the girls decided to take shots and that cost us the game.”

Big Red ended the game on a 12-3 surge to pull out the victory.

“To be honest, they outplayed us for 33 minutes,” Lombardo said. “We moved our feet quicker in the last few minutes. We struggled to score the ball. We could not get one to fall, but all it takes is for one to go in to change the game and your energy level.

“We struggled to score. We uncharacteristically missed layups. We had balls go right off of our hands. We missed shots from the outside. We could not make any baskets until the end.”

Abram scored seven of her team’s 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“Makayla Abram heavily carried the scoring load for us tonight,” Lombardo said. “When she plays with confidence, she plays well. She has absolutely no fear going to the line with the game tied. She doesn’t even think about missing. She just puts them in.”

Elexis Martin netted six points to help Big Red’s cause.

“I did not really know anything about them,” Baker said about Big Red. “I saw their scores throughout the season, but I did not know a bunch about them.”

Kalista Friday finished with a team-high 12 points to lead the way for Monroe Central, while Sydney Yoho delivered eight.

Big Red scored the final seven points of the game after a free throw by Friday gave Monroe Central a 30-25 lead.

“I did not know much about them,” Lombardo said about the Seminoles. “The only thing I knew was we played them two or three times in the summer, but it is hard to get a handle on who is there or who isn’t there in the summer.

“No. 1 (Friday) is a nice player for them as a freshman. She is able to pull up. She did a good job on screens. She did a good job handling our pressure. She is going to be a good player for them. She already is.”

Big Red led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, and the hosts led 16-13 at halftime.

“Defensively, both teams gave it their all,” Baker said. “Offensively, we did not make enough shots.”

Monroe Central outscored Big Red, 12-2, to take a 25-18 lead in the fourth. The Seminoles scored the final 10 points of the quarter.

“It was an ugly basketball game,” Lombardo said. “I have no problem being honest about that.”

Big Red is scheduled to play Brooke Wednesday at home in a makeup game before playing Thursday at Morgantown. Monroe Central is slated to play Thursday at home against Clay-Battelle.

GAME NOTES

¯ Big Red won the jayvee game, 46-24. Maggi Cucarese contributed a game-high 11 points to lead the way for Big Red. Gillian Leonard and Trista Morris each scored six for the Seminoles.

Big Red 32, Monroe Central 30

Monroe Central 8-5-12-5 — 30

Big Red 9-7-2-14 — 32

MONROE CENTRAL (11-10): Friday 5 1-2 12; Hiles 0 0-0 0; Yoho 3 2-4 8; Morris 0 1-2 1; Zwick 1 0-0 2; Bettinger 3 1-1 7. TOTALS: 12, 5-9: 30.

BIG RED (11-7): Gulan 0 0-0 0; Taylor 1 0-0 2; Marshall 1 0-0 2; Ferguson 0 0-0 0; Fields 1 1-2 3; Crownover 0 0-0 0; Minniefield 0 0-0 0; Thompson 0 0-0 0; Martin 3 0-0 6; Abram 6 5-6 19. TOTALS: 12, 6-8: 32.

3-POINT GOALS: Monroe Central 1 (Friday); Big Red 2 (Abram).

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