PLYMOUTH — Twice, the Dallas Mountaineers chopped a double-digit deficit to a mere six points.
And twice, they couldn’t get any closer.
So the Mountaineers settled for taking satisfaction from a gritty comeback attempt that fell just short Tuesday during a 48-39 loss to Wyoming Valley West in the Mike Duda Lady Spartans Tip-Off Classic at Wyoming Valley West High School.
“We tried,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said.
Her Mountaineers certainly got the attention of their opponents.
“Give Dallas a lot of credit,” new Valley West coach Gary Ferenchick said. “Of course, Division 1 is as tough as they come. We’ve got some work to do.”
After watching Valley West rattle off the game’s first 13 points and falling behind by 15 early in the second half, Dallas worked its way back.
Hanna Johnson’s long field goal (she stepped on the 3-point line as she shot) early in the fourth quarter pulled the Mountaineers within 37-31 with 6:46 to play. Then Sara Lojewski, who led the Mounts with 10 points, hit a bucket with 42 seconds remaining to trim Dallas’ deficit to 45-39.
But Dallas couldn’t get any closer, as Valley West clamped down and used tough perimeter defense to prevent its once-comfortable lead from completely slipping away.
For the Spartans, it was far from perfect.
Unless, of course, you’re talking about Wyoming Valley West’s girls basketball record. After the first two games of the season, there isn’t a blemish on it.
“I really feel comfortable with this group,” Ferenchick said.
He should.
When Ferenchick coached the current Valley West juniors on the freshman level in 2013-14, the squad went undefeated. Four of the players from that team three years ago started Tuesday’s game.
“He was our freshman coach; a lot of us were on his team as freshmen,” said Erin Gibbons, one of those current juniors who scored a game-high 12 points Tuesday and was selected as the tourney’s most valuable player. “We went 21-0. We’re really comfortable with him.”
Nobody on the Spartans’ bench felt overly content in the final quarter, though.
That 15-point lead they’d build early in the second half seemed to be hanging by a thread as the Mountaineers began to mesh.
“We got a little sloppy on offense,” Gibbons said.
The Spartans, though, never allowed Dallas to come closer.
Thanks to a torrid opening, Valley West had plenty of points to work with.
Gibbons scored five points, Colleen Cwalina hit four and Natalie Gruver and Kiersten Wiedwald both converted baskets as the Spartans stormed out on a 13-point run that ultimately decided the outcome.
“I thought we played good, solid defense and ran the floor that first period,” Ferenchick said.
After that, though, things soured for the Spartans. They hit just nine of 22 free throws during the final period, giving Dallas plenty of opportunity to make a game of it.
“It was just one of those nights,” Gibbons sighed. “Tonight, they weren’t really falling. But we made it up on defense.”
Even more alarming, though, was the fact Dallas out-scored the Spartans, 39-35, after that game-opening 13-point run.
“Early in the season, we tend to be letting teams back in it,” Ferenchick said.
There’s plenty of time to work on that, as the Spartans are off to a 2-0 start that has their new coach feeling pretty optimistic.
“It does, for the new kid on the block,” said Ferenchick, who replaced Paul Appel as Valley West’s head coach this season. “I think things will continue to come together as the year progresses.”
