L-P girls basketball loses to Geneseo on late 3-pointer

The La Salle-Peru girls basketball team struggled out of the gate Tuesday and faced a nine-point deficit early in the third quarter.

Despite the rough start, the Cavaliers put themselves in position to win.

However, L-P did not score for a more than 5 minute stretch in the fourth quarter and Geneseo’s Kendall Ellerbrock drained a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left to lift the Maple Leafs to a 44-41 victory in a nonconference game in La Salle.

“I take full responsibility for the loss because we didn’t play with any energy to start the game,” L-P coach Adam Spencer said.

The Cavs took a 39-38 lead on a post bucket by Brie Ruppert on an assist from Elli Sines with 5:33 left, but didn’t score again until the final minute.

Geneseo did not make a field goal in the fourth quarter aside from Ellerbrock’s 3, but the Maple Leafs got three free throws from Bella Brown, including a pair with 53.5 seconds left for a 41-39 lead.

L-P turned the ball over on a bad pass, but managed to get it back by pressing and tangling the Maple Leafs up for a jump ball.

The Cavs got the ball in to Ruppert, who was doubled and found Sines on a back cut for the tying basket with 28.6 seconds left.

“We swung it around and had Elli on a backside cut,” Spencer said.

Geneseo called a timeout with 20.4 seconds left to set up its winning play.

“Give (Ellerbrock) credit for hitting an incredible shot,” Spencer said.

While the Cavs handled Geneseo’s defense to tie the game late, L-P struggled early in the game as the Maple Leafs pressed and changed looks.

L-P turned the bal over on its first five possessions and fell behind 5-0 and trailed 16-10 after the first quarter.

“That was probably the worst four minutes to start a game this season,” Spencer said.

The Cavs closed within a point early in then second quarter on back-to-back 3s by Emma Jereb and Ashley Kawiecki, but Geneseo pushed its lead to 28-22 by halftime.

The Maple Leafs went up 31-22 on a 3 by Addison Snodgrass with 6:54 left in the third, but the Cavs forced a couple o turnovers that led to points and also pushed the ball upcourt in transition to go on a 13-0 run.

A three-point play by Alexus Hines gave the Cavs their first lead of the night at 33-31 with 3:44 left in the third and Sines scored a layup off a long outlet pass to cap the run for a 35-31 advantage with 2:46 left in the third.

Sines swiped a steal and found Ruppert for a fast break bucket with 10.6 seconds left in the third to give L-P a 37-36 lead going to the fourth.

“I don’t think we had a lot of trouble breaking the press when we stayed calm,” Spencer said.

Ruppert scored nearly half her team’s points as she finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for L-P (10-15), while Jereb and Hines added five points each.

Brown led the Maple Leafs (8-18) with 19 points, while Ellerbrock contributed 19.