SOUTH WEBSTER — It was an exclamation point on what had been a forgetful Thursday night contest for Kendra Justice.

The Minford junior erased memories of early struggles when she caught a pass beyond the arc on the left wing with 1.5 seconds to play and found the bottom of the net to give the Lady Falcons a 58-55 victory at South Webster. The win got Minford back to .500 in conference play on the young season.

"We came down and, like coach said, I needed the ball in my hands to lead the team," Justice said. "I was able to lead the team by making the winning shot. But it was a team effort. That was a good screen by Mariah Butcher. She helped a lot with that screen."

Justice was held scoreless for more than 30 minutes of the game, but she made a pair of free throws with 1:02 to play and the final three, which was the difference in the game.

"They came up and told me that was the first field goal I hit all game," Justice said. "But at least that was the big one and I guess I was practicing the whole game for that one shot."

The hot hand early in the contest went to fellow Falcon Courtney Spriggs. The junior scored 10 points in the game's first three minutes and finished the night with a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds.

"Courtney Spriggs had a monster game for us," Minford coach Mark Chaney said. "I've never seen a girl get in a zone from the first second of the ball game and finish that way. She did an amazing job for us today."

Minford (2-3) held the lead for much of the first half and never trailed the contest by more than three points.

After a Spriggs three-point play tied the game at 41 early in the fourth quarter, Emma Shoemaker countered a South Webster bucket with five points of her own, pushing the lead to three. Abby Donahoe, who scored 15 points in the contest, poured in seven in the final stanza. Her last three points gave Minford a 53-50 lead with two minutes to play.

"Everybody rotated through and everybody gave us some good minutes tonight," Chaney said. "That's what we expect of them. And you have to have that one girl who can hit the clutch, clutch shot for us down the stretch and Kendra did it for us tonight."

The Falcons were switching defenses almost as much as they were switching lineups to slow South Webster standout Kayla Cook. The Lady Jeep senior managed 19 points, adding 17 rebounds and four assists against the Minford pressure.

"I had a talk with Cookie and said that we have to utilize our weapons," Johnson said. "I said 'They're collapsing on you and doing everything they can to stop you and we've got (Brianna Rawlins, Kendra Clark and Taylor Queen), two or three others that can shoot.' Bri stepped up and hit some big shots for us. I'm proud of her."

Rawlins scored 17 points, including nine in the final stanza as the Lady Jeeps fought to keep up with Minford in the closing minutes.

After Justice's two free throws again gave Minford a three-point edge, Cook was fouled while attempting a three at the other end of the court. She made all three foul shots to tie the score at 55 with 37 seconds to play.

"I'm proud of the girls," Johnson said. "They played their hearts out... Our goal was to keep the ball out of Justice's hands. She only had (the five) points at the end of the game. I thought we did our job."

Minford turned the ball over on its next possession giving the Lady Jeeps a chance to take the last shot.

Justice, however, came up with a steal and a chance for Minford. The Falcons missed a shot at their end and South Webster got the rebound and timeout with 1.5 seconds on the clock.

The Lady Jeeps (2-2) committed another turnover when the full-court pass attempt was not touched, giving the Lady Falcons a baseline out of bounds chance under their own basket.

"With about 11 seconds to go in the game, we're tied and that's where we start to see (Justice) mature," Chaney said. "I know she just scored the five points but, with her it's all about leadership and control. If you look at her defensively, she did a really good job — they all did."

Justice's number was called and she delivered with the game winner.

"It's just one of the greatest feelings in the world to know you helped your team get the big win," Justice said.

The varsity contest balanced out the result of the JV game. South Webster's Mariah Sullivan jumped for a rebound and put-back as time expired in that contest, giving South Webster a 31-29 win.

South Webster will look to bounce back at Wheelersburg on Monday while the Lady Falcons return to their nest to face Northwest.

CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@

aol.com.

Minford 16 15 5 22— 58

South Webster 11 19 9 16 — 55

Minford — Spriggs 6 7 22, Donahoe 6 2 15, Gambill 4 1 9, Justice 1 2 5, Shoemaker 2 0 5, Shepherd 1 0 2. Totals 20 12 58.

South Webster — Cook 6 7 19, Rawlins 7 2 17, Blanton 3 2 9, Queen 1 2 4, Clark 1 2 4, Hanes 1 0 2. Totals 19 15 55.

3-pointers — Minford 6 (Spriggs 3, Donahoe, Justice, Shoemaker); South Webster 2 (Rawlins, Blanton)

Records — Minford 2-3 (2-2), South Webster 2-2 (2-2)