JEFFERSON - Lakeview girls basketball coach Adam Lewis wanted to know what would happen when the Bulldogs were thrown into a true battle.
Jefferson gave Lewis' team the battle he was looking for and the Bulldogs' answered the bell with a 39-35 come-from-behind victory over the Falcons on Saturday at Falcon Gymnasium.
"One of the things I was concerned about a lot was that we hadn't played any close games yet," Lewis, who was celebrating his birthday, as well, said. "We've lost by 15 and won by 30. I'm proud of the girls. They fought back through adversity and got the job done tonight."
It was the second disappointing loss for the Falcons in as many games after a 45-43 loss Thursday at LaBrae.
"Any time you lose a close game, it's tough, especially when you've had the lead for most of the game." Jefferson coach Rod Holmes said. "We didn't do what we needed to do at the end. Score just 10 points in the second half of a ballgame, you're not supposed win."
The Bulldogs (5-3, 2-0 in All-American Conference) trailed by 12, 22-10, with 2:39 remaining in the first half, but scored the final four points of the second period - with point guard Allie Pavlik on the bench with four fouls - to set the tone for what was to come.
"Where we got hurt was the end of the first half," Holmes said. "We were up 12 and their girl was out of the game. They closed it to seven at the half. That little two-minute spurt hurt us and gave them the belief they could play without their point guard.
"It took a little wind out of our sails, I think."
The Bulldogs outscored the Falcons (3-3, 0-2), 7-2, to open the third quarter and get within two, 27-25, with 4:51 remaining. Callie Schmitt netted five of those points.
"Our assistants just told the girls that everyone thinks we are the Allie Pavlik show," Lewis said. "The girls went out won the third quarter without her on the floor. They held it together as a team and grew together tonight."
A putback from Farr with a minute left in the period had Jefferson up 33-28 heading into the final eight minutes of action, but the struggles were not over for the Falcons.Lakeview outscored Jefferson, 11-0, over the final 6:12 of the contest to steal the victory.
"We had to make a decision at the half to change things," Lewis said. "Jefferson did a nice job break the full-court press and we were a little slow tonight. Our changes in the second half caused them some problems."We went to a 1-2-2 (zone) in order to have more of a presence up top. That gave their girls some trouble. We also told the girls they had to play harder. They didn't have the intensity they needed (in the first half)."
Pavlik, who returned midway through the third quarter and played through to the end without picking up her fifth foul, keyed the final push with eight points. She led the Bulldogs with 13 points and five steals. Schmitt added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Farr followed up a 17-point, 18-rebound performance against Thursday with 15 points and 16 boards to pace the Falcons. Sarah Busch chipped in with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Falcons used a 7-0 spurt that spanned two minutes in the opening period to take a 12-6 lead with 3:47 to play in the first. Putbacks by Schmitt and Marissa Naples cut the Bulldogs' deficit to two, 12-10, with eight minutes in the books.
During a 10-0 run to open the second, Farr netted six points and she, Busch and Deanna Comp all took charges to put Pavlik on the bench with foul trouble with 2:39 to play in the half.
