Lima Senior delivers under pressure, beats Shawnee in girls basketball

LIMA - Two of Lima Senior's top players had fouled out.

Last year that would have been disastrous.

This year, the Spartans found a way to overcome it.

Lima Senior's Le'Andrea Ramsey came off the bench to score 13 points to help the Spartans sink Shawnee 56-50 in a girls basketball game Tuesday at Lima Senior.

"The girls believe in themselves and they want to win so bad," Lima Senior coach Vince Halliday said. "When your point guard (Kiaira Crockett) fouls out with five minutes to go, then your leading scorer, Tierra Washington, fouls out with four minutes to go, and somehow you win by six."

Washington led the Spartans with 14 points. Samantha Robison paced Shawnee with 15 points, while Megan Ream scored 12.

Lima Senior stands 2-0, after going 3-18 last year. Shawnee is 1-2.

"It's our last year, so we have to bring it up," Ramsey said. "We want to win. We're sick of being losers."

Lima Senior's Jennifer Kemper added, "We had to pick each other up (at the end). That's when Le came in and stepped it up off the bench," Kemper said. "Somebody had to take control."

Lima Senior led 50-46 with 1:22 to go. Shawnee's Brittney Croft sank a 3-pointer, then a free throw to tie the game at 50 with 1:00 left.

Lima Senior's Kristy Harris sank a driving layup to give the Spartans the lead to stay, 52-50, with 52 seconds left.

Ramsey then sank four straight free throws to seal the game at 56-50. She sank two with 39 seconds left, then dropped two with 23 seconds to go.

Lima Senior controlled the boards, 54-44, with Kayla Harris getting nine rebounds.

The game was won at the foul line where Lima Senior hit 17-of-25. Shawnee struggled to hit 16-of-33 at the line.

"We made some clutch ones down the stretch and they missed some early and lane, which kept us in it," Halliday said. "In the end, we got the stops when we needed and we got the rebounds that we needed. I couldn't be prouder."

The Spartans' man and zone presses forced 25 turnovers. Lima Senior had 28 turnovers.

Lima Senior led 29-22 at the half, but Shawnee began posting up Robison, who scored six in the third quarter. That helped Shawnee take a 36-35 lead after three quarters.

At the end, it came down to Ramsey's four straight free throws.

"I had to make them," Ramsey said. "I didn't want to run in practice."

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