Greenville players, from left, Sara Woodgeard, Andrea Becker, Melissa Johnson and Megan Hillis walk off the court following a loss in the MSHSAA Class 3 quarterfinal Saturday at the Farmington Civic Center. (Alex Abate/DAR)

By BRAD HURT ~ DAR Sports Writer

FARMINGTON -- Greenville was lulled into hibernation Saturday afternoon by the defending state champs.

The Lady Bears, who averaged just over 70 points per game during their playoff run, were held to half that by Metro of St. Louis, losing 43-34 in the MSHSAA Class 3 quarterfinal.

"It was a well-fought game," Greenville coach Diane Meyer said. "They were in it, we were in it."

The Lady Bears (22-5) led by double digits in the first half but Metro (20-10) scored 13 straight points in the second quarter to take a 28-21 halftime lead.

Trailing by four to six points through much of the final quarter, the Lady Bears played tough defense, but could not find the baskets they needed to put a run together.

Tara Porter's turnaround hook shot with 2:32 remaining got the Lady Bears to within 37-32 and her free throws in the final minute trimmed the lead to three before the Lady Panthers sealed the win at the free-throw line.

"Everyone went out and gave it their heart," said senior Sara Woodgeard, who scored 14 points.

Kaylin Becker scored the Lady Bears' first four points of the game and finished with eight, all in the opening quarter. Porter added seven points while senior Lindsay Henson scored three points in her final game.

Sparked by the 3-point shooting of Dekeisha Matthis, who connected on four 3s in the second quarter and finished with 18 points, Metro made a significant rally for a lead and take the wind out of the Lady Bears' sails after their positive start.

"(Matthis) knocking down those 3-pointers in our face … we were out on her and she was knocking them down," Meyer said.

Greenville made a charge late in the third to pull to within 32-28 and got good looks at the basket on offense but never regained the lead in the second half.

"When we lost our lead and were down seven, I told the girls at halftime that we had just been up seven for quite awhile, so we wanted to come back in knowing that we could catch up," Meyer said of her team's second-half challenge.

The Lady Bears got on the scoreboard first and caused problems for Metro on the defensive end of the floor as they forced turnovers on three of their first four possessions.

Most of the action in the first quarter took place on Greenville's offensive end as the Lady Bears controlled the ball and took advantage of offensive rebounds to stake their early lead.

Woodgeard knocked down a pair of free throws and Becker beat the buzzer from the left block for a 12-5 Greenville lead at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, leading to an increase in turnovers, but the Lady Bears created an advantage for themselves by capitalizing on their extra possessions when the Lady Panthers could not.

Henson hit a 3 from the right corner with 5:25 remaining to push the Greenville lead to 17-7 before Metro answered with a 7-0 run on layups by Jasmine Cooper and Nakia Robinson and a 3 from the left corner by Matthis.

Matthis then closed the gap further by adding a layup and free throw to pull Metro within 19-17 with 3:36 to go. She gave her team the lead two plays later with another 3 to complete a 13-0 run.

After the Lady Bears regained the lead at 21-20, Matthis hit a pair of 3s to help her team close the half with an 8-0 run for a 28-21 halftime lead. Matthis scored 15 points in the second quarter.

"I think that was the turning point of the whole game, because they just got more physical than we did," Meyer said. "They were hustling and rebounding a little bit harder, but not because we weren't trying."

Meyer said the physical nature of the game beginning in the second quarter caused problems for her team and helped the Lady Panthers build their lead.

"Late in the second quarter they got pretty physical with us, balls were being knocked loose... in the second half we did the best we could," she said.

The second half got off to a sloppy start as each team struggled to hold onto the ball. After committing six turnovers in the first half, the Lady Bears gave the ball away on three of their first four possessions. Their first points of the quarter came on a fast-break layup by Woodgeard with 4:50 remaining to pull the Lady Bears to within 30-23.

The Lady Bears shut down the Metro shooters, but failed to make enough shots themselves to cut into the lead until a turnaround jumper in the lane by Woodgeard got them to within 32-28 in the final minute of the quarter.

Greenville came up a win short of the Show-Me Showdown for the second time in five years, also losing the 2003 Class 2 quarterfinal. The Lady Bears only other playoff appearance was in 1986.

Said Meyer, "They went at it as good as they could and I'm proud of them."