A missed layup by Albemarle in the last minute gave Monticello the window. What they did with that window was nothing short of perfect — well not quite perfect, but sometimes just one bounce makes the difference. With the Patriots up by three, the Mustangs found their lone senior, the lone returning starter from core that last lost one Jefferson District game in between Kiana Scott’s sophomore and junior season. Scott didn’t bury the 3-pointer to tie it on her first attempt. Instead, in a sign of things to come, her shot just narrowly missed, kicked out and Kirstena
Lilley made the same play she did all night, boxed out and fought for a rebound, kicked it out to Scott again, and this time, the senior knocked it down to tie the contest up in the final seconds of the game.
“It didn’t go in but my teammates, they were there to make the play and get me another look,” Scott said. “That play was a total team effort.”
Of course, there was still time on the clock and while Albemarle got a decent look at the basket, Monticello came up defensively, earned a double-bonus free throw attempts, and Rachel Mathews knocked both down to give her team the lead with nine seconds to go. After a Patriots turnover and a pair of successful free throws from Scott, the game was in the books and Monticello found a way to steal the win, 45-41.
“Three or four times in the second half, that’s what it was — a team making a run,” said Mustangs coach Erica Terrell. “We made a run, then they did. Luckily at the end it was a run for us that we made count. It lucked out to where we didn’t have to foul to get back in it and then Kiana had the big shot at the top of the key. We were very fortunate, she got two really good looks and I’ll take that anytime of the day.”
Everything up until Scott’s big trey and the free throws after was pretty consistently inconsistent. To call this a game of runs is putting it lightly. Monticello got off to a 9-3 start, but midway through the second quarter, it was Albemarle up 12-11 in a game defined by missed open looks and turnovers. The last four minutes of the first half turned the war of attrition in a flury of offense and Monticello went up 19-11 only see the Patriots reel off ten unanswered to take a 21-19 lead with Sabrina Shisbey doing the work in transition.
“We were able to build a little confidence tonight, something we needed,” said Albemarle coach Rachel Proudfoot. “We’re finding new ways to get the ball in the bucket but we still need to hit some more key shots.”
The Mustangs edged the Patriots in the third quarter as they reclaimed at 32-31 lead, but the bulk of the fourth quarter belonged to Albemarle. The Patriots took a 5-point advantage late into the fourth, but a pair of buckets from Mariah Brown make it a 1-point game. After Albemarle took a 3-point lead, Monticello was unable to convert and the Patriots ran the floor with just over a minute to go and attempted to take a 2-possesion lead rather than trying to milk out the clock at the free throw line. It cost them in the end as with 48 seconds, the Mustangs reeled off their 7-0 run to finish the game and seal the win.
“We knew that we just had to keep our heads in the game and to keep talking,” Scott said. “We did and so things worked out in our favor, thank God. It feels amazing. At the end of the day it’s just about trusting your teammates, you have to do that if you want to win.”
Scott led all scorers with her 17 point night and had a quarter of 3-pointers. Brown had a 12-point outing to give the Mustangs two players in double figures. Lilley threw in seven points.
For Albemarle, Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper had 12 points. Anne Ridenhour was close behind with 10 points. Shisbey finished with eight points. Haylee Howard-Radde had seven points.
“That last minute hurt,” Proudfoot said. “Loosing the shooter defensively at the end, that was tough and we have to play better defense there.”
The Patriots and Mustangs are off until December 28th where they will both play in the Holiday Classic tournament.
