BELLEVILLE – Edwardsville girls basketball freshman Sydney Harris only scored four points in the game, but it was the last three that were the biggest.
Harris hit a baseline three-point shot with 9.1 seconds left in regulation to give the Tigers a dramatic 48-46 win over O’Fallon in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 4A Normal Community West sectional Tuesday evening at Belleville West High School.
The Tigers had led most of the way before a Panther rally in the final quarter gave O’Fallon the lead with 1:17 left.
“You know what? All the credit to O’Fallon coming back,” said Edwardsville coach Lori Blade. “We had them where we wanted them, they made a run, and we just couldn’t stop the bleeding there for a while, but it was a great game for everybody to see.”
Blade also gave tremendous credit to Harris for stepping up to take the winning shot.
“You know what? Credit for Syd,” Blade said, “because a lot of freshmen wouldn’t take a shot in that situation, and at least she was willing to step up and take that shot. So, I’m proud of her for that, and we were just fortunate it went in, and we get the turnover there at the end. Very well-played game, very competitive, and that’s what it’s about.”
The Tigers were able to clinch the game thanks to an alert play by Maria Smith, who grabbed a rebound on her own missed a free throw with 2.5 seconds left to run out the clock.
“Absolutely; that’s what I told her,” Blade said. “She was upset she missed it, but that’s the best thing that could have happened as far as that. But it was a great heads-up play.”
Edwardsville jumped out to a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led at halftime 31-23, but missed some easy shots, along with some lapses that helped O’Fallon come back.
“We had some good looks,” Blade said. “We had some lay-ups we didn’t get, we had uncontested shots under the basket, and that’s nothing but a lack of mental. We’re better than that in those situations. But like I said, a credit to them; they hit some big shots. And they were red-hot the first half; I know they didn’t get many looks, but I think they were nine-of-12 from the field, and we just couldn’t put them away. It was very similar to the first time we played them, but we’ve got a quick turnaround here. But right now, it doesn’t matter how ugly it is, anything else, it’s about moving on, and that’s what these kids get the opportunity to do.”
The game started off with Reyna Bullock hitting a three on the side to give O’Fallon an early lead, but it quickly became 4-3 for the Tigers, via a free throw from Morgan Hulme and a three from Maddie Stephen. Hulme hit on two more free throws, and a jumper from Jaylen Townsend upped the lead to 8-3, and after an exchange of baskets, Makayla Best got the roll on a three to cut the lead to 10-8. That would be the last points of the quarter for O’Fallon, as Edwardsville went on an 11-0 run, as Townsend hit on two threes, Que Love hit on a pair of baskets, and Townsend got a steal and went coast-to-coast to score before the buzzer to give the Tigers a 21-8 lead after one.
Izzy Akoro started the second quarter by hitting a pair of threes to cut the Tigers’ lead to 22-16, but two baskets from Hulme brought the lead back to 26-16. Following another exchange of baskets, a three from Townsend made the score 31-18, but a basket in traffic and a three-point play from Bullock cut the Edwardsville lead to 31-23 at halftime.
Townsend and Love scored to start the second half, but baskets from Best and Kayla Gordon brought the Tiger lead back to eight. A three-point play from Kylie Burg increased the lead to 38-27, and after an Akoro basket, a three from Burg and a Townsend basket off a steal gave the Tigers a 43-29 lead. The Panthers got the final six points of the period, on baskets from Gordon, Ashley Schloer and Amelia Bell to make the score 43-35 Edwardsville after three quarters, setting the scene for a big final eight minutes.
A Best basket and a free throw from Hulme made the score 44-37 to start the period, then two free throws from Gordon and a basket from Best cut the lead to 44-41 with 6:03 left in regulation. Best hit again with 5:18 left to make it a one-point game, causing Edwardsville to call time out. After another Tiger time out with 4:58 to go, back-to-back jump balls gave the Tigers possession with 3:34 left. Edwardsville ran some clock, and a Townsend free throw with 2:37 to go increased the lead to 45-43. The Tigers turned the ball over with 1:53 left, and the Panthers went to work, getting a big three from Bullock with 1:17 to go to give O’Fallon its first lead since the start of the game 46-45.
After a pair of time outs from both teams, Best got a steal late, but was fouled by Townsend, sending her to the line with a one-and-one. Best missed the front end, and the Tigers got the rebound and moved the ball upcourt. Love found Harris on the baseline with a good pass, and Harris’ shot hit all net with 9.1 seconds left to give Edwardsville the lead at 48-46.
The Panthers called their final time out with 7.2 seconds left to set up a play for the final shot, but lost the ball in the lane. Schloer was called for a foul with 2.5 seconds left to send Smith to the line with a one-and-one. With all O’Fallon players in the lane, Smith missed the front end, but the ball rebounded out to her, and she dribbled out the clock to give Edwardsville the win.
Townsend led the Tigers with 17 points, while Love, Burg and Hulme each had eight points. Bullock led O’Fallon with 13 points, while Best had 11 points and Gordon scored 10.
The Panthers’ season ends at 25-9, while the Tigers are now 30-2, and will play a familiar foe in Rock Island in the sectional final Thursday night at Normal Community West in a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Tigers and the Rocks have met in the last four sectional finals, with Edwardsville winning all of the meetings.
And it’ll be another chance to go up against Rock Island start Brea Beal, the two-time Illinois Miss Basketball, who recently signed with South Carolina.
“We went up last night, just to see the difference,” Blade said, “but (Beal) is so good. You know, we’ve been fortunate to get her for the last three years, but it’ll be a quick turnaround, like I said. I told the coaching staff before the game all we could wish for is an opportunity. And that’s all it’s about. Our goal is to get tot he championship of each tournament that we’re in, so we’ve done that, and now, we’ll show up Thursday and compete to the best of our ability that day, and we’ll go from there. And if it’s enough, it’s enough. But she’s awfully good; we know that, and she’s probably going to be the first-ever three-time Miss Basketball in the state of Illinois. But she’s good, and she’s fun to watch, and we’ll see what we can do with her.”
The Rocks have a new coach in Henry Hull, and have shown to be a very good shooting team in addition to the having the talented Beal.
“They have a different coach, so they’re doing some things a little bit different,” Blade said. “Like last night, they opened up, first eight shots, they hit five threes, and (Beal) hadn’t taken a shot. So that’s a little scary. If they’re going to do that, they’re going to be tough to beat.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
