Last-second shot
L-E edges PG, 51-50, to claim district crown
It came down to one, long distance shot.
Pleasant Grove’s last second 3-point shot fell short, and Liberty Eylau defeated the Lady Hawks in a District 14-4A thriller, 51-50, at the Rader Dome on Senior Night Tuesday.
The Lady Leopard (21-11, 9-1) clinched first place in district with the win, and the Hawks (19-8, 8-2) finished second.
“The key to the game for us was team defense,” Liberty-Eylau head coach Aquanetta Watson said. “I was proud with how they stuck together. For us to be district champions is…wow. I told them to play like they were down. They started getting after it. We are ready to make a playoff run now.”
The Leopards outscored the Hawks in the fourth quarter, 11-6.
“We dug ourselves a hole at 17-3, but I told them that this was going to be 32 minutes
of run,” Pleasant Grove head coach Jason Boston said. “I was proud of our kids, we gave ourselves a chance, and we got ourselves a shot at the end. We take this, learn what we need to, and get ready for the playoffs.”
Liberty-Eylau went on a 9-0 run to start the final stanza. During the run, Keeley Norris hit a putback, Derrica Henderson swished in a 4-foot jumper, Henderson drove in for a layup and Skylier Bailey hit a shot from 3-point land to make it 49-44 in favor of the Leopards.
Madeline Haak, who finished with 13 points for the Hawks, drove in for a layup to make it 49-46. Norris hit a layup for the Leopards to make it 51-46.
Monique Walker, who scored 12 points, hit a 10-foot jump shot, and later, Sha’Nequa Henry hit a layup to make it 51-50.
After a pair of missed Leopard free throws with 4.6 seconds left, Pleasant Grove rebounded, drove the floor and heaved up a last second 3-point attempt that fell short.
Taylor Crabtree finished the game with a game-high 18 points for L-E. Kaliyah Thompson finished with 11, and teammate Keeley Norris scored 10.
Liberty-Eylau started the first quarter on an 8-0 run. Kaliyah Thompson hit a trey, Crabtree hit a 6-foot floater in the lane, Crabtree hit a charity shot, and Thompson connected on a 3-pointer during the run.
Haak hit a 12-foot jump shot to end the run to make it 8-2, but the Leopards went on a 7-0 run to make it 15-2.
Walker hit a shot from downtown, Haak hit a pair of free throws, Henry hit a trey, and Haak hit a charity shot during a 9-0 Hawk run near the end of the first. Crabtree drove in for a 4-foot jumper to give L-E a 19-12 lead after a quarter of play.
After the teams swapped buckets at the start of the second quarter, Pleasant Grove went on a 6-0 run to make it 22-20 in favor of the Leopards.
During the run, Abby Hines hit a layup, Henry drove in for a layup, and Walker hit a pair of free throws after drawing contact in the lane.
The rest of the second was played evenly, and Liberty-Eylau went into the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
Pleasant Grove shot 36 percent from the field on 16 of 44 shooting, while the Leopards hit 22 of 56 shots for 39 percent.
The rebound numbers were close with L-E outrebounding PG, 35-34. The Leopards also won the turnover battle, 22-16.
Liberty-Eylau seniors Taylor Crabtree, Aaliyah Thompson, Kaliyah Thompson, Derrica Henderson, and Amoiya Gentry were honored before the game on Senior Night.
Pleasant Grove (16-4, 8-1) won the junior varsity game, 30-25, and are district champions.