by Rusty Ellis
The Van Buren Eaglettes overcame a 10-point deficit on Saturday night to take down Clarkrange 65-59 and advance to the Class A State Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
The Eaglettes brought the energy early, as an Emily Allen three gave Van Buren a 6-2 lead in the first quarter. It didn’t take long for the Lady Buffaloes to respond however, as they closed the first on an 11-5 scoring run to take a 13-11 lead.
The second is where Clarkrange appeared poised to run away with the contest, as they used threes from Addy Stowers, Ashton Napier and Chloe Rogers to build a 29-19 lead with just over a minute to go in the first half. Van Buren didn’t go quietly though, as they scored the final four points of the quarter to cut the lead down to just 29-23 at the half.
The Eaglettes continued their excellent play into the third quarter, as Allen and Layla Bouldin combined for 16 points in the quarter and Van Buren outscored Clarkrange 20-16 to trail by just two at 45-43 entering the fourth quarter.
Bouldin then went further into takeover mode, as she scored a pair of buckets to jumpstart a 7-0 run to open the quarter. This gave the Eaglettes a 50-45 lead with 6:20 to go in the game, and it was a lead Van Buren would never relinquish, as they clinched their spot in the Class A State Tournament with their 65-59 win over Clarkrange.
Bouldin’s 27 points and Allen’s 15 led the way for the Eaglettes, as they helped counter a balanced attack from CHS. Napier paced Clarkrange with 14 points, while Mattie Bush scored 13 points in her final game as a Lady Buffalo. Rogers and Stowers added 11 and 10 points of their own, respectively.
For head coach Tyler Sapp, he says he kept telling his team that eventually, Clarkrange would start missing some shots and that would be their chance to come back.
“I told them that this was the best they’d shot all year and that they would cool off,” Sapp said. “Our biggest issue in the first half was just that we weren’t scoring, and we held them to 29 points. I thought we played really good defense, so I told them we would get things going and eventually, we’d have our shot to get on a run.”
One thing Sapp says he emphasized was getting off on a roll in the third quarter, and the energy the Eaglettes played with was exactly what he wanted to see.
“We always emphasize the first four minutes of the third quarter,” Sapp said. “We came out and just tried to get on a run…that’s always a point of emphasis for us.”
Bouldin’s massive second-half effort was a major factor in the win, though it’s hardly anything new for Sapp.
“I see her everyday,” Sapp said. “She’s fabulous. That’s just what she does…the biggest growth I’ve seen in her game is that she can score at will now. She’s crucial to our team, and she’s as good a kid as you’re going to find.”
Making their return to the State Tournament is something that Sapp and the Eaglettes have been anticipating for most of the season.
And this time, they hope to be around for more than just the first day.
“In all the time of talking about it, you hope that they start to believe it,” Sapp said. “It’s always a goal…the first time you go, you’re happy to be there. We want to win a game this year. Obviously we want to win it all, but we’re taking small steps. We’re not going there for vacation anymore.”
The Eaglettes will now await their opponent for their quarterfinal matchup.
