MOBERLY, Mo. — Three Rivers College coach Jeff Walk got cupcakes and a win for his birthday. Three Rivers extended its winning streak to 15 games with a 59-54 victory at Moberly Area on Saturday. It was the first time Walk has won at Moberly Area in his nine seasons with the program. "I still got a little smile on my face," Walk said. The Lady Greyhounds (16-3, 0-1 Region XVI) took a quick lead to start the fourth quarter. Ge'Naisha Robinson, who led the Lady Raiders with 24 points, tied it back up at 42 off an assist by Alex Kohler. Two more layups by Robinson put the Lady Raiders ahead by five with just under 2 minutes to play. Anisha George answered with a minute to go for Moberly Area.
The Lady Raiders (17-2, 3-0 Region XVI) milked the shot clock before missing a shot. The Lady Greyhounds raced down the court and Lundon Henry drew a foul on the runout. She missed both free throws with 32 seconds left and Joya Smith grabbed the rebound before Three Rivers called a timeout. With a 2-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, Moberly Area quickly put Michael Everhart on the free-throw line. She missed the first and made the second to make it a two-possession game. George then sank a quick shot that used just 3 seconds of the clock. Three Rivers had the inbounds pass stolen, but was able to get a stop and Kaylee Heggemann was fouled on the rebound. She hit both and Moberly Area turned it over. Robinson came up with the steal and was fouled with 3 seconds left. She made the first to set the final score. "I pushed the panic button a couple of times. The girls did a good job and coach (Alex) Wiggs did a good job of getting me back to where I needed to be," Walk said. "When we were able to speed up and play our pace, we were able to get out in front of them. I think that was the biggest difference." Three Rivers lost the rebounding battle by 20, but shot 58 percent from the field. Moberly Area shot 1 of 21 on 3-pointers and 44 percent overall. Both teams were 50 percent on free throws. "There weren't a lot of rebounds to get but we didn't get many of them," Walk said. In a back and fourth first half, Everhart hit a 3 with a little over three minutes left in the first half to put the Lady Raiders ahead by five. Joya Smith followed with a bucket through a foul and missed the free throws. The Lady Greyhounds quickly cut the lead to a point with under a minute left. Three Rivers, up three with a chance to take the last shot in the first half, got the ball to DeNayia Holmes. Her first shot was blocked, but she grabbed the rebound and squeezed a bucket through three Lady Greyhounds, off the glass and at the buzzer. George is averaging 9 points and 5.2 rebounds for Moberly Area, but the 6-foot, 2-inch freshman center had a double-double at halftime with 11 of Moberly Area's 21 points and 11 rebounds. She finished with 17 points on 8 for 11 shooting and 12 rebounds. "We just went in and told them we've got to keep her off the boards," Walk said. "She was killing it."
Both teams opened the second half with several empty possessions. Joya Smith ended that with a three-point play nearly 3 minutes in. Robinson followed with a bucket to put Three Rivers ahead by double digits for the first time. A few minutes later, though, Moberly Area was back within two points. Holmes, who had 10 points, broke the Lady Greyhounds' eight-point run with a layup and Porter followed with a basket that also picked up a third foul on George, who went to the bench. Moberly Area eventually tied the game at the freethrow line with 23 seconds left in the quarter. Three Rivers, with the final possession, got the ball to Holmes, who drew a foul with one second left, made the first and missed the second.