HEREFORD — The Pampa Lady Harvesters (16-10, 2-2) traveled to Hereford on Tuesday evening where they picked up a huge 51-44 win over the Lady Whitefaces to keep a leg up in the District 4-4A race.
The Lady Harvesters held a lead throughout most of the game until late in the third quarter when Hereford overtook Pampa 38-37. But the Lady Harvesters took control back in the fourth quarter, scoring six unanswered in the first three and a half minutes before going on to win 51-44.
“It wasn’t anything different (that we called). It was just doing what we do better,” Head Coach Jared Messer said.
“That’s what we talked about. We’ve had a lot of these games in the last couple of years where we’ve been in the locker room talking about what should’ve been or that were close. We kept repeating to them that message: don’t let this be a ‘could’ve game’ let it be a ‘what happened’ game. We just did what we did better and got better after.”
The Lady Harvesters wasted little time getting on the board with a layup from senior Tessa Rodriguez followed by a bucket and a pair of threes from freshmen Berlin Bartlett to put Pampa up 10-0 with 5:50 left in the opening quarter. Junior Ariel Lacher added a basket before junior Rhoda Buckley hit a lay-up off the steal from Bartlett and Pampa led 14-7. Buckley added another basket late in the quarter and after one Pampa led 16-11.
Freshmen Cambree Dyer got into the mix in the second quarter with a put-back at the four minute mark. Junior Braelyn Sellers, who was in for Bartlett because of foul management hit a three to give Pampa the 22-15 lead at the 2:50 mark.
“She (Braelyn Sellers) was sick all weekend and today was her first day back even getting to practice,” Messer said. “She just came in and kept it steady. I can always rely on her to come in, whether she plays five minutes or 15 minutes.”
Right before the half, Dyer hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Lady Harvesters led the Lady Whitefaces heading into the locker room 25-18.
“She (Cambree Dyer) had her coming out party at a tournament over the break when she got named all-tournament,” Messer said. “I just keep telling her to keep having confidence and when she has confidence she is an elite player with a bright future.”
The Lady Harvesters built a 10-point, 30-20 lead after the traditional three-point play by Lacher and a bucket by Berlin. Hereford had started to come back into the game closing the gap at 30-28 before a steal-and-score from Bartlett kept it at two possessions. Bartlett had a bucket and a three, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the Lady Whiteface rally and Pampa trailed for the first time in the game at the end of the third quarter 38-37.
The deficit was short-lived, however, as the Lady Harvesters silenced the raucous Hereford crowd with baskets from Rodriguez and Sellers to lead a 6-0 run. Hereford hit a three but Bartlett and Lacher led the Lady Harvesters on another 8-0 run in the final moments of the game and Pampa took the win 51-44.
The Lady Harvesters return to action on Friday and look to carry the momentum from Tuesday’s win back home when they host Canyon to wrap up the first round of district play.
“After we were done celebrating in the locker room I told them that Canyon is one of those that comes with, ‘Oh, we’re not going to win,’” Messer said. “But I told them we came in here and beat the second-place team in the District, why don’t we go beat the first place team on our home court?”
Unofficial stats
Berlin Bartlett led the team in scoring with 15 points, had four three-pointers and was 3-8 in free throws; Ariel Lacher had nine points and was 3-3 from the line; Tessa Rodriguez had six points; Cambree Dyer had five points and a three; Braelyn Sellers had four points, had a three and was 1-2 in free throws; Rhoda Buckley had four points. As a team, Pampa went 7-15 (46 percent) in free throws.
