[Stardust]

BOWLING GREEN — Sydney Moss’s huge game wasn’t enough as the Boone County Lady Rebels fell in overtime 72-70 to Lexington Paul Laurence Dunbar in the opening round of the Girls’ Sweet Sixteen Wednesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Despite 41 points and 13 rebounds from Moss, Boone County was unable to advance, allowing the tying basket in the final seconds of regulation and trailing the entire extra session.

With the loss, Boone County ends its season 30-4.

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“I think we played good as team, but they made some big shots down the stretch,” Moss said. “We drove to the basket a lot and I’ve got scratches all over my arms from where girls were hanging on me. The refs I guess didn’t see it so I don’t know. That kind of hurt us.”

Moss helped the Lady Rebels build a 14-6 lead, scoring 10 points in the first seven minutes.

Dunbar scored seven straight to trim the deficit to one point before Boone County responded with an 8-2 surge to extend its lead back to 22-15 midway through the second quarter.

The Boone County lead grew to 34-24 on a putback by Moss early in the third period when the Lady Bulldogs began their comeback. Dunbar outscored Boone County 22-11 over the next seven minutes, taking a 46-45 lead on two Morgan McEldowney free throws with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Lady Rebels regained the advantage 47-46 when Moss found Lydia Nash for a wide open layup on the final play of the third quarter.

Dunbar scored the first three points of the fourth quarter, jumping back in front 49-47 on a Lakeena Parks 15-footer.

Boone County got four straight from Jessica Jones to regain the lead, but Brooke Todd tied the score 51-51 with a floater in the lane with 1:46 remaining.

The teams traded buckets the remainder of regulation. The final exchange came in a 15-second flurry when Moss’s runner in the lane was answered by a Jordin Fender bucket with 5 seconds left to make the score 59-59.

Dunbar scored the first four points of overtime to take the lead for good. Boone County pulled within a bucket twice and had a chance to tie on a 3 from Moss in the final 20 seconds. Fender added two free throws with 13.1 seconds remaining, rendering a 3 from Moss at the buzzer meaningless. Dunbar finished 17 for 24 from the free-throw line, 11 for 12 in overtime.

“Congratulations to Dunbar,” Boone County coach Nell Fookes said. “They played a great game. They really hit their free throws down the stretch when it mattered. Their quickness bothered us on the perimeter. We could have won it in regulation. The ball hangs on the rim and drops in, but that’s the game of basketball.

“We had an opportunity to beat them. Things just didn’t go our way today.”

Lydia Nash added 11 points for the Lady Rebels. Parks led Paul Laurence Dunbar with 20 points.

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