(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
MANITOU SPRINGS — A one-point lead late in the game is never safe against Manitou Springs. So when Cassie Forgue stepped to the free throw line with 20 seconds, it was crucial for those shots to fall.
And they did. Lamar hung on to beat Manitou Springs 49-46 in the second battle of Class 3A CHSAANow.com top 10 teams for each team this week.
The No. 8-ranked Mustangs (7-8 overall, 4-3 Tri-Peaks League) fell to Colorado Springs Christian earlier this week while the Savages (13-1, 6-1) beat those same Lions on Friday night.
“I think we were all very nervous,” Lamar coach Erik Melgoza said. “This school is a class act. Every coach they put on the bench is a class act, their players are class acts. You never count them out. We were very fortunate today to come out on the winning side of this.”
But it was far from a sure thing.
Manitou got back-to-back 3-pointers from Shelby Megyeri and Ali Washington to take a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Megyeri would score eight of her game-high 14 points in the second, but Lamar was able to regain the edge and head into halftime with a one-point lead.
The Savages had a distinct advantage in the post with the way that Cali Clark has been playing this season. But early foul trouble forced her to the bench. But with plenty of other weapons at his disposal, Melgoza put his trust in his players and they stepped up when it was most needed.
“We have a team of five on the court at all times,” Brecken Payne said. “When one is slacking or in foul trouble, the rest of the team picks it up and we do that very well.”
Payne led the Savages in scoring with 13. Clark added 12 and Forgue ended with 11, which included the two free throws late that turned the pressure up on Manitou.
“I was ready,” Forgue said. “We’ve been practicing a lot so we were really prepared for this.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
She sank them both, but with Megyeri on the opposing bench, there is always a looming 3-point threat. In the final 20 seconds of the game, all Lamar had to do was limit her ability to get a clean shot off.
“I don’t think you stop a player like that,” Melgoza said. “She’s put in the gym time and she’s been playing ball since she was little. You don’t stop a player like that, I think you slow her down and limit her touches.”
Meygyeri was able to get off a game-tying 3-point attempt, but the shot was long and the Savages came away with a win against a team that has not been easy to beat in recent years.
“We’ve been preparing for this team the whole season,” Payne said. “We knew this was a hard gym to play in once we got in here, we were all a team and understood what we wanted to do and we got it done.”
For the Mustangs, it’s the fourth single-digit loss of the year to a team ranked in the top 10. It’s only the difference of a possession or two, but it’s leaving Manitou a tad frustrated.
“It seems like every single game where we don’t make the stop and we need to,” coach Ed Longfield said. “Or don’t execute a play on our end when we need to. You think about the times that we’ve lost by two or three points and it’s not ultra-discouraging because we’re right there, but we have to figure out a better go-to set when we need those crunch plays.”
Both teams are in the top 15 of the 3A RPI. They could collide again next month in the Tri-Peaks district tournament.