HOBGOOD – It’s called the charity stripe for a reason but Friday night the free throw line was Hobgood Academy’s worst enemy.

After shooting 8-of-12 from the line over the first three quarters the Lady Raiders shot 3-of-15 in the fourth, missing eight free throw attempts over the final two minutes, as they fell to Ridgecroft, 46-43.

“That was a great win for us,” said Ridgecroft Head Coach Elton Winslow. “Hobgood is a great basketball team and this is a tough place to play.”

It was especially tough early in the third quarter as Hobgood started the quarter with a 9-1 scoring spurt that left Ridgecroft trailing by 11 (30-19).

Then everything started to go the Lady Rams way. Hobgood went cold from the floor and kept trying to force the play, which ended up in a turnover.

Ridgecroft ended the third with 16 unanswered points while the Lady Raiders ended with five straight turnovers to trail by five, 35-30.

A basket by Bobbi Stewart with 5:30 left in the game tied the score at 39.

Hobgood answered a basket by Tayler Smith with buckets by Jamie Vanderford and Morgan Clark.

Caitlin Harrison’s deuce tied the score at 43. Four missed Hobgood foul shots later, Emily Cooke scored the go-ahead basket for Ridgecroft.

Hobgood missed their final four free throws and the Rams managed only one of their five attempts as they took the three point win.

It was a close game from tipoff.

Clark drove the lane for two and Corie Robertson added a foul shot to balance a Jessica Bolton trey.

Bolton added another trey, Cooked hit from downtown and Bryant drove by three defenders for the score as Ridgecroft stretched their lead to eight (11-3).

After picking up her third foul with 2:52 remaining in the first Bryant was sent to the bench, along with Bolton who had two and Harrison, who also had three fouls.

“Emily Cooke, Emily Revelle and Bardin (Murray) came off the bench and kept us in the ball game in the first half,” said Winslow.

Hobgood chipped away at the lead before getting a basket from Roberson and two Vanderfor foul shots to pull within two, 13-11.

At the top of the second quarter, Steward took Clark’s bounce pass to the hoop for two and Vanderford added a bucket as Hobgood took their first lead of the night.

The teams traded baskets over the final minutes with the Lady Raiders getting buckets from Mary Rawls and Stewart

to keep the lead, 21-18, at the half.

Cooke led Ridgecroft with 13 points followed by Bolton with 10, including three treys. Vanderford paced Hobgood with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Steward added 13 points for the Lady Raiders.

It was also a three-point win in the junior varsity game, but it was Hobgood that came out on top, winning 19-16.

Emily Thompson scored seven and Ashley Ritter added six points for Hobgood.

Freshman Brice Harrison led Ridgecroft with eight points.

Lady Rams (46):

Emily Cooke n 13, Jessica Boloton n 10, Hayes Bryant n 6, Emily Revelle n 6, Taylor Smith n 4, Bardin Murray n 3, Caitlin Harrison n 2, April Piland n 2

Lady Raiders(43):

Jamie Vanderford n 15, Bobbi Stewart n 13, Morgan Clark -9, Corie Robertson n 3, Mary Rawls n 2, Sarah Gregory Sykes – 1