Photo & Article by Wade Bell The Crawford County girls' basketball team came up short against the Forest Park Lady Rangers last Tuesday night in a physical game where players from both sides needed ice bags by the time the game was over. The Lady Pack got behind in the mid-portion of the game but fought to rally back late in the game, coming up short to lose by a 53-49 decision. “I’m just really proud of how our kids didn’t quit,” said Crawford County coach Chris Broughton. “We just played really tough. We had multiple chances to give up, and we didn’t do it and gave ourselves a chance at the end. That’s what I’m taking away from this game because Forest Park is a good team. There’s no shame in losing to them.” The Lady Rangers took the initial lead, but Crawford County came back to go in front on a three by Abigail Adams. Adams then converted on a Forest Park turnover. The two teams traded points to the end of the period, and Crawford County junior Sylvia Ferriell drilled a half-court shot at the end of the quarter for a 12-11 Lady Pack edge. Emery Stroud scored inside for the Lady Pack to start the second quarter. The Lady Rangers scored the next 11 points to lead by eight as the game became more physical. Stroud and Brynn Ingle scored the next four to cut the Crawford County deficit in half. The two teams traded points at the end of the perio,d and Forest Park led by six, 25-19, at halftime. The Lady Pack came into the game after a good finish in the Hauser holiday tournament in third place. Broughton wanted that to carry over into this game. “We played three games in two days,” he said. “I knew we’d probably be a little bit tired doing that. We just wanted to carry in some good momentum. We had this game. Providence is our next game, then we’ve got four conference games in a row. We’re sitting there at 2-0 in the conference knowing that that four-game stretch is going to determine a lot of our season. We knew we had Forest Park, and Providence is a really good team. We’ve got those opponents that we’ve got to figure some things out and be ready to play our best basketball going into the Paoli game.” The Lady Rangers started the second half with a 6-1 burst to lead by 12. Stroud scored Crawford County’s next six points in a 6-2 burst as the Lady Pack's deficit closed to eight. Forest Park maintained its doublt-digit lead through the remainder of the quarter with a 44-34 advantage. “We wanted to make some adjustments,” said Broughton. “We came out and played man-to-man. I didn’t think it went well because they went on a little run in the third quarter. They went on a little 6-0 run, and we had to call timeout then, after that, we pretty much outscored them and outplayed them. It was just little stretches of the game. When you play a good team and you’ve got stretches of the game like that, when one team throws a punch, the other team has got to throw a punch back. I think if we had had a minute or so more in the game, we could have probably came back and won.” Stroud and Adams scored the first five points of the final period. Brynn Vaught put in a Forest Park freebie, but Stroud answered with two. Avery Hill put in a Lady Rangers' deuce, but Stroud and Adams countered with four, Forest Park’s lead down to four. Mollie Combs followed with a deuce-and-one for a 50-45 Lady Rangers' lead. The clock then became Crawford County’s enemy as the two teams traded points through the last 43 seconds, Forest Park getting the 53-49 win. “I’m just proud of our effort,” Broughton said. “You could say we had a few turnovers that really hurt us. We missed some free throws. We probably allowed too much dribble penetration but, overall, I’m just pleased with the way that we fought. Forest Park has got some size inside; they’ve got some guard play. They’re a good team.” Stroud led the Lady Pack with 24 points, and Adams followed with 13. Crawford County put in 13 of 43 field goals (30%) and 19 of 28 free throws. The Lady Pack finished with 10 turnovers. “I think we figured out some things tonight,” said the Crawford County coach. “We were playing without Payton Stephenson, one of our best scorers. She has really stepped up and been our second or third option this year, so playing the game without her tonight made it a little different I think but I’m proud of the girls that stepped up in her absence. That should give us some confidence going forward. “Brynn Ingle has had a great season for us," he said. "I’m just proud of our effort and proud that we didn’t quit. Emmy had a good second half, so we’re just trying to take some positives out of this game and move forward in a positive manner.” Hill finished with 12 to lead the Lady Rangers, and Vaught and Claire Warren finished with nine points each. Forest Park put in 20 of 37 field goals (54%) and 12 of 17 free throws. The Lady Rangers had 22 turnovers. “Give credit to them,” Broughton said. “I thought a couple of times we almost got them to turn it over or almost got a steal, and they just held on to the ball. Give them credit; that’s a good team. I told our kids after the game that says a lot about you guys if Forest Park comes in here and is excited to beat you and is one of the best wins of the season for them. That shows how much respect people have for you guys and our team. So, hopefully, our kids can take that away too.” Forest Park 11 14 19 9 - 53 Crawford County 12 7 15 15 - 49 Forest Park - Hill 12, Vaught 9, Warren 9, Combs 8, Meunier 8, Howard 4, Begle 3. Crawford County - Stroud 24, Adams 13, Lamar 4, Ferriell 3, Pollock 2, Wright 2, Ingle 1. 3-point goals - Forest Park 1 (Begle); Crawford County 4 (Adams 2, Ferriell 1, Stroud 1).