The Nocona Lady Indians magical run came to an end Tuesday night at Bridgeport against perennial season ender Brock in a game that looked headed for a much uglier end.
The Lady Indians ended up losing 59-47, but got within one after coming back from double digits all while facing the prospect of how to proceed without leading scorer Averee Kleinhans for most of the game due to foul trouble.
She picked up her third foul midway through the first quarter, where the Lady Eagles had a 4-3 lead. Coach Kyle Spitzer felt like his girls came out a little intimidated in the first quarter because of the name recognition of Brock as they trailed 12-5 heading into the second quarter.
Kleinhans was only in for a brief time in the second quarter before picking up her fourth foul. One more and she would be out of the game so Spitzer was forced to sit her for the rest of the half.
With her off the floor, the Lady Indians point guard Trystin Fenoglio got sent the double teams and ball denying treatment usually reserved for Kleinhans. This prevented Nocona’s offense from really getting anything going despite its defense keeping the game within range. The Lady Eagles were up 23-13 at halftime.
Down 30-16 midway through the third quarter, Kleinhans checked back into the game. This ignited the Lady Indians on their comeback as they finished the quarter on an 11-5 run. Brock led 35-27 heading into the fourth.
That lead went down to 35-34 early in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as Nocona would get. A missed chance to take the lead changed things from there on out as the Lady Eagles extended their lead a bit before Kleinhans fouled out with 4:26 to go.
The Lady Indians still had their chances as Chloe Daughtry and Karlee Brown contributed greatly off the bench scoring the ball to keep them in the game.
Spitzer said two of Brock’s players, Olivia Lewis and Torrye Tyler, surprised him as both had great days scoring, combining for 40 points despite Spitzer not seeing much from them on film.
With Nocona not being able to get much closer than five to seven points away, the Lady Indians just ran out of time. The Lady Eagles made their free throws at the end and Nocona did not have the fire power to respond as their magical season came to an end 59-47.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.