The Geibel Lady Gators battled Frazier for the second time this season as they looked to avenge an earlier loss to the Lady Commodores. It wasn't easy but Geibel accomplished that feat with the help of Emily Pennington's 15 points, to defeat Frazier, 48-40, in a non-section contest.
"Our kids showed some patience tonight," said Geibel head coach Patrick Klocek. "When we played them down there, we didn't show any patience in the second half like we did tonight."
The Lady Gators jumped to a 10-0 lead before the visitors could find the net. Rachael Hughes put Frazier on the board with a field goal and later hit a three-pointer to cut the Geibel lead in half, 10-5, at the end of the period.
In the second quarter, Geibel saw its margin dip to three, but it went on a 10-3 spurt to push its advantage back up to 10, 22-12. While Frazier (7-9) again was able to pull within three, the Lady Gators had another run in them. This time they outscored the Lady Commodores 10-2, capped by a Lori Moncheck basket, to make the score 32-21. Hughes, who kept her team in the game with 15 first-half points, nailed a trey at the buzzer to put the score at 32-24 at halftime.
The Lady Commodores hung around in the first half and had chances to take the lead but they were unable to control Geibel's spurts.
"Our defensive intensity wasn't there in the first half and we let up 32 points," said Frazier head coach Chris Lucovitz. "We can't let up that many points and not be able to score on our end. We couldn't press or score out of our half court set."
Conversely for the Lady Gators, it was their ability to keep control that was the difference in the second period.
"In the second quarter, Rachael Hughes made two or three three-pointers but the good thing about us at that point in the game was that we maintained our composure," Klocek said. "We came down, got some good shots and took it back up to 10 points."
Neither team was able to put it together offensively in a third quarter that was marred by turnovers. Geibel (7-8) was able to outscore Frazier 8-6 in the frame to take a 40-30 lead into the final stanza.
Frazier's Rachel Sparinga caught fire in the fourth period, as she scored all eight of her points to pull it within six, 44-38. From this point, the visitors went cold as they could not make the game any closer.
The Lady Gators made a couple free throws down the stretch to earn their third win in a row.
Frazier returns to action tonight when it hosts Beth-Center while Geibel next plays on Monday night at California.
