Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School girls basketball team couldn't hold off a late charge by Mount Dora Christian Academy, falling 50-48 on Friday night inside the VHS gymnasium in Middleton. 

The Buffalo fumbled away a double-digit lead in the second half by way of a rash of turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed, before a last-gasp drive by VHS junior Zion McRae to tie it late glanced off the rim at the horn.

That came after MDCA junior Natalie Doan sank a go-ahead basket with 4.6 seconds left to hand the Bulldogs a season series sweep over the Buffalo.

"Just very, very, very disappointed," said VHS head coach Marquez Porter. "When Mount Dora Christian got down, those girls stayed the same mentally ... I had to call timeouts to reel us back in. I can't be doing that at this point in the season. No matter what we face, we have to have the ability to deal with it and keep playing."

After trailing by as much as 16-7 early in the second quarter, the Buffalo seemed to find their groove behind a 15-0 run. That put VHS up 22-16 after MDCA was kept off the scoreboard for more than six minutes of game clock. 

The Villages led 28-20 at the half and went up by as much as 12 midway in the third quarter, before the visiting Bulldogs began their march back into the contest. 

The comeback effort included three separate sequences of three offensive rebounds on three trips down the floor for MDCA, each resulting in a putback basket. The come-from-behind siege also brought forth a suffocating zone defense that trapped Buffalo ball-handlers en route to a dozen second-half turnovers.

"Tonight's loss is simply because of our lack of composure," Porter said. "There's no excuse for being young or any of that. We've played enough basketball now to know right or wrong, and they've proven they know what they have to do — we just didn't do it."

The two teams exchanged the lead five times and tied another three times in the fourth quarter, with back-to-back 3-pointers from McCrae and Evah Watterson giving the Buffalo a two-possession lead with less than two minutes to go.

That's when Doan's bucket gave MDCA the 50-48 lead with less than five seconds to play, setting up the Buffalo with one last chance to tie or take the lead late. 

Porter called timeout to draw up an inbounds pass to McRae, who had her first gather deflected away out of bounds. With 4.2 seconds remaining, McRae was able to collect a pass and sprint down the floor, only to see her game-tying layup rattle off the rim as time expired.

McRae finished with 14 points to lead VHS in scoring, while Watterson had nine and Amiyah Flowers finished with eight. 

The Buffalo (8-7) will look to rebound at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17, when they host Eustis in Middleton. 


Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.