Poland denies Hamilton on buzzer beater

The last time Center State Conference IV foes Hamilton and Poland got together, the Tornadoes were able to eek out a two-point victory at home in December.

Nearly two months later, the tops two teams in league met again, this time with a share of the league title on the line.

Hamilton, needing the win to claima share of the title, had the lead throughout the majority of the contest.

But then, with 2.4 seconds left on the clock and the Emerald Knights up 45- 44, the visitors dialed up an in-bounds play, freeing Heather Artz to bank home the game-winner and hand Poland the league title outright.

“I was in disbelief at first,” said Poland coach Jason Potempa. “Obviously, I was excited. I was super proud, especially for Heather. She’s a senior. She has been playing with me for a few years, so for her, it was really awesome, and for the rest of the girls, too.”

“Obviously, they came out and put a little bit of pressure on us. We didn’t handle it well for a while. That got them back into the game. Then, I thought we started to handle it well. We scored a few times in transition out of [the press break], enough to stay tied or hold the lead,” said Hamilton coach Gary Weeks. “The play at the end that they scored on was my fault. I

knew [Artz] was a shooter that in-bounded the ball, and I did not come out and put some pressure on her. That is onme as the coach... the girls played a fantastic game against a great team with a chance to tie for the division title. There was a lot on the line here. Give her credit. She made a long shot.”

“The seniors really stepped up big in the second half. We had a couple of girls that came off the bench and stepped up. Really played with a lot of heart. That’s the bottom line. We played with a lot of heart tonight,” said Potempa.

The hosts got off to a tough start, coming up empty on their first six possessions. Trailing Poland 4-0 after the first two minutes, Hamilton cracked the scoreboard with a pair of free throws by Emma Basher. After a bucket by Poland’s 15, Basher answered with a 3-pointer to keep Hamilton close as the two teams battled to a 9-9 tie to close the frame.

Hamilton began to click in the second. EmmaBasher opened the scoring with a theft and a fast-break layup. Following a Poland hoop, Kylie Pearson began to heat up. After missing her first trio of 3-pointers to open the contest, Pearson got the lid off on a pair of made free throws before draining a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the half to help Hamilton carry a 21-14 advantage into the half.

Out of the break, Poland went with a full-court press to get back into the contest. Midway through the quarter, back-to-back buckets by Sergott brought Poland within four at 31-27. After a Rodriguez lay-in off a Beth Belanger assist, offensive boards and put-backs by Sergott and Sidney Tabor had Poland within a point at 33-32, but Rodriguez broke through the Tornado press for two layups on passes from La Ruffa and Belanger to close the quarter withHamilton up 37-32.

Sergott opened the fourth with a coast-tocoast layup and Sweet followed with a bank shot to pull Poland back within one before Rodriguez answered with an offensive rebound and putback for Hamilton to keep the hosts up three at 39-36. Artz kept the back-and-forth flow going with a jumper for Poland, but Belanger buried a shot from beyond the arc as the shot clock expired on Hamilton’s next scoring possession. Pearson added two more for Hamilton off a La Ruffa assist to give the hosts a 44-38 lead with three minutes remaining in the game.

Back-to-back scores by Sweet cut the Hamilton lead to 44-42. A Hamilton free throw gave the hosts a brief three point edge, but Sweet had the answer for Poland again, spinning her way to a hoop in the paint to pull the visitors within one with less that 1:30 on the clock.

During a chaotic next minute, Poland missed a layup and turned the ball over, but Hamilton came up empty on two trips to the foul line, setting the stage for Artz’s last-second heroics.

The victory ensured Poland the outright CSC title, snapping Hamilton’s seven game win streak.

The a tough loss for the Emerald Knight’s to swallow, Weeks believes games like the one on Friday night will better prepare his team for an upcoming sectional run.

“The last five games have been all close games, so that has been good practice for us to handle close game situations,” said Weeks. “It’s heart breaking to lose a game like this when you are trying to tie for a division title, but they are going to have to bounce back.”