Having watched Mountain Home reel off nine straight points to start the second half and his own team turn the ball over four times in five possessions, first-year Siloam Springs coach Beau Tillery called for a timeout early in the third quarter.
A 25-21 lead at halftime was now a 30-25 deficit after Mountain Home's Lakyn Moore scored nine straight, including a pair of three-pointers, and the Lady Panthers needed a reset.
"Just calming them down," Tillery said. "Literally everything we talked about at halftime that we didn't want to happen is what happened. We turned the ball over. We knew (Moore) is just an absolute stud. We let her get going. We fouled her on a three, just kind of a bonehead play, and we just kind of talked to them in the timeout. There's nothing X- and O-wise with that group. They're old enough. They're veterans. Just stay calm, they're fine. Get back in the game. The game has started again so we've got to wake up a little bit."
Turns out the timeout did the trick.
The Lady Panthers emerged from the timeout and went on a 16-0 run to pull ahead by double digits before holding on in the fourth quarter for a 52-47 victory Friday to open 5A-West Conference play.
Immediately following the game, Tillery didn't realize the run was so big.
"Wow," he said. "I knew they responded late in the third. I didn't know it was that good though. They're capable of that. Again they're a veteran group, so it's just getting them to be locked in and be focused when they get out here. They know how to play."
Brooke Smith scored inside to start the run and Emily Keehn knocked down a 3-pointer in the corner to tie the game 30-30.
The Lady Panthers (8-7, 1-0) took the lead for good 32-30 on a driving basket by Brooke Ross.
Keehn split a pair of free throws and Mimo Jacklik knocked down a 3-pointer on the wing for a 36-30 lead.
Ross scored inside again and Jacklik hit another 3-pointer as Siloam Springs went up 41-30.
Mountain Home's Amelia Rucker scored to end the run as the Lady Bombers cut the lead to 41-32 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Panthers led 47-36 midway through the fourth quarter when Mountain Home got hot from behind the 3-point line.
Rucker hit a three and Parker Huskey also knocked one down. Leading 52-42, the Lady Bombers cut the final deficit to five points when Lauren Wehmeyer scored and Huskey banked in a 3-pointer.
"They stepped up and hit some big shots when we really had a shot to close it out," Tillery said.
In the end, Mountain Home coach Dell Leonard said the Lady Bombers (9-8, 0-1) turned the ball over too many times to be successful.
"We had 22 turnovers tonight and I give Siloam a lot of credit for forcing that," Leonard said. "Some of those turnovers were on us. We didn't play very well and kind of scrapped around. It ended up being a two-possession game. For me I'm optimistic. I do wish we had been a lot better in some areas. You've got to give Coach Tillery and Siloam's girls credit."
Moore finished with 13 points to lead Mountain Home while Parker Huskey had 12 and Lauren Wehmeyer 10.
"I just think we have a mix of experience and inexperience," Leonard said. "Sometimes the inexperience rears its ugly head so to speak. When you're playing a team that plays a matchup like they do or does some of the things that they do, I thought when Lakyn Moore, number 22 for us, got going, he went to a diamond and one.
"You've got to make really good cuts, and our cuts we were jogging and not really good cuts. Part of that is you put in new stuff to prepare for different defense and I think when kids start thinking they get slower. If you're not making cuts, you're not going to be open and when you're not open, guards tend to make bad decisions."
First-year Siloam Springs coach Beau Tillery said the Lady Panthers knew they'd get a fight from the Lady Bombers.
"Regardless of what people said about Mountain Home last year, I knew their ninth graders were really good. Number 22 (Moore), a sophomore, is really good," Tiller said. "Dell just does a phenomenal job anyways, especially considering he had a week to prep for us, so I knew they would be ready. We wouldn't get anything easy. But the girls, again, kind of piggybacking off the Gravette tournament, played hard, scrapped and continued to just grind it out and got a win."
Brooke Ross scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Lady Panthers while Mimo Jacklik had 11.
Keehn and Anna Wleklinski each added eight points, while Smith had six.
The two teams will play again in Mountain Home on Feb. 3.
Siloam Springs was scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at home against Alma. Results were not available at presstime.
The Lady Panthers travel to Greenbrier on Friday, Jan. 13.
Siloam Springs 52, Mountain Home 47
Mountain Home^10^11^11^15^--^47
Siloam Springs^15^10^16^11^--^52
Mountain Home (9-8, 0-1): Moore 13, Huskey 12, Wehmeyer 10, Rucker 8, Mullin 2, Coleman 2.
Siloam Springs (8-7, 1-0): Ross 19, Jacklik 11, Keehn 8, Wleklinski 8, Smith 6.
Mark Ross/Special to the Herald-Leader Siloam Springs senior Brooke Ross powers her way to the basket against Mountain Home on Friday, Jan. 6. Ross had a game-high 19 points as the Lady Panthers defeated the Lady Bombers 52-47.