The Shalom Lady Flames dropped a hard-fought, 43–41 decision to the New Covenant Lady Flames at home on Tuesday night. Credit to New Covenant, who played well, capitalized on their opportunities, and edged out the win.
The Flames were tied after the first quarter, but New Covenant pulled ahead by four in the second quarter behind 10 points from Qynne Dernler. The visitors appeared poised to pull away in the third quarter, building a seven-point lead, but after a timeout Shalom tightened up defensively and battled back. Maya Lehman sparked the comeback, scoring 11 of her team-high points in the final two quarters.
Shalom briefly took the lead late in the game, but New Covenant answered with the go-ahead basket with just four seconds remaining. It was an exciting high school girls’ basketball game played in a great atmosphere in Shalom’s new gym.
Defensively, the Flames surrendered eight three-pointers and struggled to contain New Covenant’s duo of Qynne Dernler and McKenna Kantner, who accounted for all 43 of their team’s points.
Lehman led the Flames with 19 points, while backcourt mate Addison Adams added nine and continued to bring high energy on the defensive end. Sydney Moore contributed six points, and Harper Adams finished with four. Julianna Myers and Emily Rebok battled defensively and on the boards, creating valuable opportunities for their teammates.
Next up, the Lady Flames head on the road to face the Southern Fulton Lady Indians on Saturday at 1:15 PM.