Larson's buzzer-beater sinks Eureka

If it takes some games to shake out the cobwebs after Christmas break, nobody told Kaylee Larson last week.

The Maidens capped a dramatic second half comeback with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Larson against Eureka last Tuesday night, Jan. 2, lifting them to a hard fought victory by a final score of 39-36.

"It was very exciting," said head coach Karla Moxley. "The girls were extremely happy with the game."

The game began slow, however, as the Maidens came out flat in the first half, missing a few breakaway chances and falling into a 7-0 hole to start the game. Shayla Couture got the scoring started with a three, and Carli Starkel added another trey, but the Maidens found themselves down 13-6 at the end of the first half.

The team showed more life in the second half, as Lindsay Roberts played tough D' and made a habit of crashing through the lane, scoring on back-to-back plays and bringing the score to 21-15 at the half.

"We were really flat in the first quarter," said Moxley. "But we started to wake up as the game progressed."

The Maidens came out wide awake in the second half, playing a tenacious defense that altered between an extended zone and a man-to-man press. The change seemed to free up the offense as well, and fed a 11-1 run that gave Ronan the lead, 26-22.

Eureka would not go away quietly though, and capitalized on numerous second chances from offensive rebounds and regained the lead at the end of the third quarter, 27-26.

"Their defense was tough," said Moxley.

With such a close game going into the fourth quarter, the scene was set for a dramatic ending. Ishan Wylie came out strong, scoring and getting fouled to give the Maidens the lead, 29-27. The game was back and forth from that point on, and with 7.2 seconds left it was tied at 36, and Moxley called a time-out to set up a final play.

"We set up an out-of-bounds play, but the ball got fumbled around a little," said Moxley. "Then Kaylee picked it up and was dribbling it around and I yelled at her 'shoot it!'"

With three seconds left on the clock, Kaylee Larson put up the winning shot from beyond the arc, and watched in astonishment as the ball fell through the hoop, giving the Maidens a 39-36 win as the buzzer sounded. Larson promptly ran down the court in disbelief before getting caught by a group of ecstatic teammates.

Larson said she wasn't originally supposed to get the ball. Couture was the intended target for the set play.

"It was a play for Shayla, but there was a bad pass. She was covered, so she just threw it back to me," Larson said. "I was right there at the 3-point line. I just had no idea [it was going to go in], I just shot it, it went in, and I was really surprised."

For a shot that she wasn't sure about, it sure was nice — a near-perfect swish.

"I snapped it," Larson said of the net.

"I think she was pleasantly shocked," said Moxley. "Her shot has been kind of flat lately and it was only her second basket of the night. I felt great for her."

Shayla Couture led the team in scoring with 13 points, followed by Lindsay Roberts and Kaylee Larson with five each. Carli Starkel and Ishan Wylie added four points each, followed by Ashlee Cheff and Mariah Friedlander who had two apiece.

Unfortunately for the Maidens, they were unable to capitalize on their momentum against Libby on Saturday, as they lost 42-35.

"The girls worked hard throughout the game, although we weren't as effective in executing our offense as we needed to be," commented Moxley. "We missed a lot of opportunities, with missed free-throws in the first half and then a lot of missed lay-up shots in the second half. That determined the outcome of the game. The girls were frustrated with a lot of things, but weren't overly discouraged at their performance."

Ishan Wylie led the team against Libby with nine points and was followed by Carli Starkel, who had seven. Shayla Couture had six points, Stephanie Salomon had four, and Kaylee Larson and Ali Anderson each had three points. Lindsay Roberts added one point.

"The team has worked hard to stay mentally tough," said Moxley. "With everything the team has been faced with, we're doing pretty good, we're learning and getting better each day."