FPD girls defeat Mount de Sales 47-36 after a chaotic week of winter weather

A week between games with almost no practice in between?

Neither FPD nor Mount de Sales were going to be too sharp. Head coaches Doug Wasden and Craig Carroll hoped to be surprised but had no such luck.

FPD got on a roll, Mount de Sales got in a drought, and they reversed roles enough to make the second half interesting until the Vikings regained control for a 47-36 win Friday night in a GIAA District 6-3A battle.

“Neither one of us has practiced since Monday,” Wasden said of the delay caused by the severe winter weather that rolled through Macon. “You could tell.”

Mount de Sales fell to 8-10 overall and 0-4 in region play with its sixth straight loss, its third by 11 points or less.

“We do a good job fighting,” Carroll said. “We were 8-4 starting the new year, then lost five in a row, which was a pain. Very competitive, but …”

FPD improved to 11-7 and 3-2, rebounding from last Friday’s 50-48 loss to Tattnall.

Mount de Sales’ boys got off to a solid start en route to a 68-36 win over the hosts.

Little was different from FPD’s 46-34 girls win back on Jan. 7, other than shooting percentages were a chunk lower this time around.

“I think they outrebounded us, which was not something I anticipated,” Carroll said. “Last game, we outrebounded them. Effort, a lack of effort, but the girls played hard. Kept fighting.”

In the first quarter alone, Mount de Sales had five multiple-shot possessions to only one for FPD. Alas, nine turnovers helped the Cavs dig a 14-7 hole after one, a hole that would’ve been bigger had the Vikings not gone the final 2:27 without a point.

The Cavs’ slump lasted longer, the final 4:15, after they pulled within 9-7.

Both teams continued to miss close-range and paint shots, managing just 14 points in the second quarter. FPD couldn’t pull away and Mount de Sales couldn’t gain much ground.

“We had a stretch where we couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Carroll said. “Offensively, we’re struggling big-time right now. Too many turnovers, too many missed ‘bunnies’.”

The lead was 23-12 at halftime, Mount de Sales closing with its version of a flurry for the night with three points in the final 40 seconds, a flurry that included a pair of missed free throws.

Not that FPD lit it up.

“At halftime, we missed four layups, and we had two free-throw (lane) violations,” Wasden said. “We had 10 points right there I wanted so bad.

“I thought we would miss a lot more outside shots. I was hoping those layups would go in. I’m glad our defense was cooking.”

Abee Leslein’s early third-quarter score doubled the margin for FPD to 25-12. The shooting woes for both continued, as did the Cavs’ continued inability to make gains at the free-throw line. The line did Mount de Sales in all night, the Cavs going only 5 of 17.

“That’s been consistent all year,” Carroll admitted. “We struggle with free throws.”

A bucket low by freshman center Kenzie Jordan answered Elcee Leslein score inside, and got the Cavs on an 11-3 run over the final 3:25 of the third quarter, and suddenly it was a seven-point game heading to the fourth quarter.

“I thought we had a chance,” Carroll said. “But too big a hole to climb out of. Almost just like last game.”

The closeness awakened the Vikings, who then flexed their balance and depth muscle.

Bowen Matthews got it started with a three-point play 26 seconds into the fourth quarter, and Abee Leslein added a jumper after a turnover and the lead returned to a dozen, Elcee Leslein following a one-and-done Mount de Sales trip with a 3-pointer off glass, and a close game was now a 40-25 game.

“They do a good job on their press,” Carroll said. “We had been handling that a lot better the last couple weeks, but they caused some turnovers.”

Payton Latimore hit her second 3 of the game – and the Cavs’ third – to break the run, and both teams went back into shooting slumps for a few minutes, only delaying the inevitable.

Kennadi Lightfoot led Mount de Sales with nine points. Elcee Leslein topped the Vikings with 16 points while Matthews added 12.

While it wasn’t all that pretty or sharp, FPD’s finish was solid.

“We had two or three games in a row where there were about one or two possessions at the end,” Wasden said. “I told them last time, I like 10-point wins. We got a lead and we were able to hold it.

“We had some girls come off the bench (Alexa Economopoulous and Emily Claire Howard)) that did well, and we didn’t lose any tempo, so that was a good thing. Everybody contributed something.”