A rejuvenated Homestead boys basketball team bounced back in the second half to clinch the outright NHC title and remain undefeated with a 65-55 win against Columbia City on Tuesday.The Class 4A No.LEO-CEDARVILLE – A second-half role reversal paid off for the DeKalb girls basketball team.
Led by a rejuvenated defense and some key three-point shooting, the Barons bounced back to beat Leo on the road, 53-47, in overtime Tuesday.
DeKalb (4-1) trailed 30-18 at halftime but outscored Leo (3-2) 35-17 in the second half and overtime.
“We challenged them at halftime, and they responded,” DeKalb coach Nick David said. “We hit some huge shots and defensively, we (took) it up a notch. That’s what let us win the game tonight.”
The Barons knocked the 12-point advantage to nothing when they tied the score at 33 late in the third quarter.
But the Lions appeared to have righted themselves and held a four-point lead, at 37-33, heading into the fourth quarter.
But Bradee Thews hit two three-pointers, and Shaye Fifer also hit a three to help tie the score at 44.
Brianne Rinehart had a chance to win the game for the Barons but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2.4 seconds remaining.
No matter, DeKalb clinched the game in overtime at the free-throw line, hitting just enough in a 5-for-10 performance.
“We just weren’t playing hard,” David said of the first half.
“We were letting (Leo) do whatever they wanted to do. When we pick up the pressure and check people when they cut inside we are pretty hard to score against. Our girls have to realize we have to do that from the get-go. We can’t wait a half to do that.”
Fifer led the Barons with 17 points, while Thews added 16.
DeKalb led 8-3 in the first quarter before Leo went on a 16-3 run into the second and opened up a 19-11 advantage. The Lions pushed the margin to double digits, settling for the 12-point lead at halftime.
“That’s what we have been working on all year, to put two halves together,” Leo coach Carrie Shappell said. “We knew DeKalb was a good team, and they showed they were a good team. They did a great job coming out in the second half. We knew we were going to see fire when they came out.
“Their athleticism and quickness took over. We need to be able to overcome that, but at the same time we are going to face a lot of teams who have good athletes. We need to figure out how to combat that. They were hitting threes left and right, and it is hard to find a defense against that.”
Alexis Meeks had 15 points for Leo, while Keanna Gary added nine points and 12 rebounds.
