For the first 10 minutes of Monday's crossover game between Pembroke and Avon at Cal-Mum, it looked like the Dragons might be on their way to continuing a great post-season run that on Saturday had given the school its first sectional title in girls basketball.
Then, things fell apart and Pembroke would eventually lose to Avon 57-49. A pair of whistles for traveling gave Avon the ball in their half of the court and Avon erased Pembroke's three-point lead on two easy baskets.
Next, Avon's Abby Decillis and Keni Read rained threes down on the Dragons. They hit five between them plus another pair of two-point buckets.
"We had a little bit of a run going," said Coach Ron Funke. "We had some momentum. The turnovers and then those daggers, those three-pointers were just, you know, they just killed us."
In the second quarter, Avon outscored the Dragons 26 to 12. Only once the rest of the way would Pembroke get as close as nine points of the lead.
On the night, Decillis hit three three-pointers and Read hit five. Decillis finished with 20 points, Read with 19, and Sarine Mcdowell with 17.
"We got some of the looks that we wanted, we just couldn't finish near the basket," Funke said. "And our free throws ... I just can't understand. We set a school record for free throws percentages this season."
On Monday, Pembroke shot only five for 15 from the line.
In the fourth quarter, down by 14 or 15 points, Pembroke got some life back with under five minutes to play. Playing with hustle and confidence, twice they pulled within nine points of the lead but time expired before they could close the gap.
"They never quit," Funke said. "That's for sure. They never have. And you know, those girls they never will."
For Pembroke, Serene Calderon scored 16 points. MacKenna Johnson scored 13. Dekari Moss scored nine. Casey Wurtz scored six.
At 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Genesee Community College, Avon plays Oakfield-Alabama to see which Class C team will represent Section V in the Far West Regional championship.
