By Adam Rouse
Staff Writer
FORTVILLE â??? After watching the New Palestine boys pull off an overtime thriller over Greenfield in the nightâ??s opener, few would have thought a better game would follow with the girls Hancock County championship game Dec. 30.
They were wrong.
The female Dragons (6-5) survived two overtimes and a pair of last-second miracles from Greenfield (8-4), receiving one of their own with a second left in double OT, to claim a 78-75 victory.
New Palestineâ??s win came despite a game-high 30 points from Greenfieldâ??s Morgan Anderson.
If there was an ESPN â??Instant Classicâ? channel for girls high school basketball, this game would be replayed immediately.
Trailing 45-31 to begin the fourth quarter, the Cougars had a tall task in front of them. But after watching their boys make a 14-point comeback, anything was possible.
Anderson went to work immediately, scoring eight points in the first 3:15 of the quarter to cut the deficit to 49-45. New Palestine, however, was able to build its lead back up to 58-48 with 2:40 remaining in the game, and the body language of the Cougars began to sour.
But Greenfield kept chipping away at the lead, point by point. Two free throws from Anderson cut it to 58-50. Baskets from senior Brooke Drake and sophomore Jordan Lewis made it 58-54 at the 1:39 mark, and Anderson brought the Cougars within two with another field goal 24 seconds later.
New Pal was temporarily able to stop the bleeding with a free throw from senior Kortney Corman, but she missed the other one to continue to keep the contest a one-possession game.
Lewis was fouled on the next trip down the court and nailed both freebies to cut the deficit to 59-58 with 55.2 on the clock. Senior Michelle Parks countered with two of her own to push the Dragonsâ?? advantage back to three.
Sophomore Macey Anderson had failed to connect on her first four 3-point attempts, but the fourth was a charm as the 5â??9â? guard swished a rainbow trifecta to tie the game at 61 with 30 seconds left.
Greenfieldâ??s defense was a little too aggressive on the next possession and sent Parks back to the line, where she calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to give the lead back to New Palestine with 21 seconds to go.
The Dragons were able to get the ball back after a turnover and sent junior Katie Lyons to the line for two. Lyons missed the first but hit the second to give New Pal a 64-61 lead with 9.1 seconds remaining.
Having to take the ball the entire length of the court in under 10 seconds, Dragons coach Mark Fuson decided not to foul Morgan Anderson as she took possession. It would prove to be an error as the senior raced down the floor and launched a wide-open three from the right angle that found nothing but the bottom of the net, tying the game and sending it into overtime.
With each team in the double bonus going into the extra period, free throw shooting would prove to be critical. New Palestine built a 69-64 advantage â??? all on free throws â??? before Greenfield could muster a point.
After Morgan Anderson scored to bring the Cougars within two at 70-68 with 19 seconds to go, the drama really began. The Dragons were called for traveling on the ensuing possession right off the inbounds pass, giving Greenfield a shot to tie the game.
It was Morgan Anderson who would get the ball, and she took a tough shot against apparent contact. But no foul was whistled, and the attempt did not fall.
Junior Rachel Blackwell missed a pair of free throws for the Dragons with 7.8 seconds to give the Cougars yet another opportunity to negate the 70-68 deficit. Once again it was Morgan Anderson who asked for the ball and got it, but she was whistled for an offensive foul on her shot near the basket.
All seemed lost for Greenfield with just 1.2 seconds showing on the clock and the Dragons with the ball, but New Palestine failed to get the ball in bounds and was called for a five-second violation (and a dubiously quick one at that).
This time the Cougars took advantage as senior Kayla Montgomery drained a jumper from the top of the key as time expired, sending the game into a second overtime.
With Greenfield holding a 75-74 lead, New Pal senior Sydney Lambert stepped to the line for two freebies with 24.1 seconds left in the second OT.
Joking with another member of the media that she would probably hit one of two to send it into triple overtime, the joke was nearly on me as Lambert did, in fact, hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 75.
Morgan Anderson missed a jumper on the next possession for Greenfield, and a long pass found two Dragons alone underneath their own basket with less than five seconds to go. It was Lambert who got a chance at redemption, and that she did as she used a shot fake before going up for the layup with around three ticks remaining. Both the shot fake and the shot were successful as Lambert hit the layup and was fouled with :00.1 showing on the clock.
After conferring with each other, the officials generously put a full second back on the clock. But it would not matter as Lambert nailed the free throw, and Greenfieldâ??s long prayer came up empty to send the Dragons home with a 78-75 county championship.
Lambert led New Palestine with 21 points, while Parks finished with 19, Lyons had 16, and senior Meagan Lawson added 12.
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