A fourth-quarter rally fell short for the Rolla High School girls’ basketball team, as the Lady Bulldogs fell to West Plains 48-42 in Ozark Conference action.
The outcome snapped a five-game winning streak for Rolla, now 10-10 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The West Plains Lady Zizzers improved to 17-4.
West Plains used a zone defense to slow down the Lady Bulldog offensive attack.
West Plains took a 15-11 lead after the first period and then limited Rolla to just six points in each of the second and third periods.
Rolla trailed 22-17 at halftime.
Despite the offensive woes the Lady Bulldogs gave West Plains a scare in the final period. Rolla closed the gap to four points with 1:15 left in the game. However, the Lady Zizzers held on at the free throw line.
West Plains scored just one field goal in the fourth period. However, the home team hit 13 free throws in the final period to seal the deal.
Jenny Dupes, a 5-7 junior, had nine points to lead Rolla while 5-9 junior Ashton Tiddy added eight.
Guard Julianne Reed tallied 15 points to pace West Plains.
In the junior varsity game freshman forward Andrea Zalis hit a lay-in with one second left to give the Lady Bulldogs a 40-39 victory.
Rolla led 17-6 after the first period and went into halftime up 19-16. Rolla led 32-27 entering the fourth quarter.
Zalis and junior guard Emily Carroll each had 10 points for the Rolla jayvee squad.
The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play their final regular-season road game of the season on Monday, traveling to Springfield to meet Parkview in conference play. The jayvee game is to begin at 6 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
