FIELD TWP- In the closing seconds of an intense battle against North Woods last week, the Ely girls hoops team needed a touch of Grace, and they got it, as junior guard Grace LaTourell coolly iced the Grizzlies with four free throws and blocked a desperation three-ball to give the Wolves a narrow 64-61 win.
LaTourell was no stranger to late-game heroics, with her clutch free throw shooting as a sophomore leading to an upset win over South Ridge in last year’s sectional tourney, and Ely Head Coach Max Gantt was confident she would come through again.
“Funny how that happened again, isn’t it?” Gantt said. “She’s one of those people who will say, ‘Oh, I was so nervous,’ but she just blocks it out and she’s a good free throw shooter. Yeah, we’re lucky to have her.”
From the outset it didn’t look like Ely would need any special effort at the end of the game, as they were up by 12, 25-13, with only nine minutes elapsed on the clock. Sarah Visser, Madeline Kallberg, and LaTourell all canned threes in the early surge, and the Wolves appeared to be firmly in control.
But freshman guard Tatum Barto canned a pair of free throws and Kiana LaRoque followed a baseline jumper with a fast break score for a 6-0 run that put North Woods right back in the fray. They closed to within three, 34-31, when River Cheney netted two charities and went into halftime trailing the Wolves 36-31.
The second half was nip and tuck all the way, with the Wolves fending off repeated attempts by North Woods to grab the lead. A trey by the Grizzlies’ Helen Koch narrowed the gap to one, 39-38, and North Woods pulled even at 45-45 on a bucket by Hannah Kinsey. But the Grizzlies couldn’t get over the hump, and a three-point play on a score and free throw by LaTourell gave Ely a 56-52 lead with four minutes to play.
Trailing 60-54 with just over two minutes to play, North Woods threatened again when Koch hit another three and Kinsey scored on the baseline to get within one, 60-59, with 49 seconds remaining. LaTourell made a pair of free throws, but Cheney responded with a basket with 18 seconds on the clock. Ely managed to milk seven seconds off the clock before LaTourell was fouled and sank another two charities for a 64-61 lead. Koch raced down the court to launch a game-tying three, but the shot was blocked by LaTourell to preserve the win for the Wolves.
Gantt was pleased with the effort across the board from his team, and particularly with the play of Visser, whose 15 points included four treys.
“She’s one of those players who plays really well in big games,” he said. “You don’t always notice because she’s always helping everyone else and letting them get their points, but she carries us in games like this with her with her ability.”
LaTourell contributed far more than her game-clinching free throws, leading Ely with 26 points. Madeline Perry was also in double figures with ten.
North Woods Head Coach Liz Cheney said that the key to the Grizzlies turning it around in the first half was taking off their full court press.
“It wasn’t as effective as we wanted it to be, so I wanted all our energy focused on our man-to-man defense,” she said. “I think they got tired and I was able to put some fresh legs in to keep us fresher.”
Cheney was upbeat about the Grizzlies’ performance despite the loss.
“This was huge for us,” she said. “We didn’t lose by 20, we lost by three points. Of course we wanted to beat Ely. But it’s good to keep the momentum building like this.”
River Cheney was the leading scorer for North Woods with 16, followed by Kinsey with 15 and LaRoque with 12.