Lady Tigers stun New Brockton for area title in overtime thriller

Straughn stormed back from a 21-point deficit in the third period and claimed the 4A Area 4 championship with a hard-fought 51-42 overtime win against New Brockton on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

The Lady Tigers won their 10th straight game and improved to 18-5 on the season, while the Lady Gamecocks dropped to 13-13.

“If you’d told me before the game that it would start the way it did, I would have thought you were going crazy. Going into halftime with only ten points on the board was unlike us. Instead of focusing on what we were doing wrong, I reminded the girls of what we needed to do to turn it around. We had to get hot on offense, keep the momentum going, and shut down their shooters. That’s exactly what we did,” SHS Head Coach Calen Lowery said.

The opening period was a back-and-forth battle early until the opposition broke away with a strong finish. Blakeley Smith scored the initial two home points from the free-throw line before Kiani Schmitz hit a three-pointer. Annlee Wise then found the hoop for a 4-3 Straughn lead. Casey Williams followed with two threes, and Schmitz also hit from long range for a 12-4 margin with 3:54 left in the frame. Wise cut the deficit to five with a deep three at the 1:46 mark. However, Schmitz and Williams stayed hot beyond the arc as New Brockton took an 18-7 lead at the end of the first.

Williams began the second period with a pair of threes. Schmitz upped the margin to 26-7 with a basket. Baida Canant went one-for-two at the foul line for the Lady Tigers, and Wise followed with a bucket. Reese Eddins added two late free throws and gave the Lady Gamecocks a 28-10 lead at halftime.

Wise got the second half scoring underway with a basket, but Williams answered with her sixth three. Schmitz scored another bucket and took the visiting lead to 33-12. Smith had two threes during a 10-2 run and sank two foul shots as Straughn closed the gap to 35-22 with 2:49 to go in the frame. Wise continued to sizzle with back-to-back threes and trimmed the deficit to seven at the 1:02 mark. Williams responded with her seventh three as New Brockton held a 38-28 lead at the end of the third.

Smith opened the fourth period with a three-point play, and Wise followed with five straight points including a deep three that closed the gap down to only two. Eddins followed with two free throws for the Lady Gamecocks, and Emily Grace Peeples went one-for-two at the foul line for a 41-36 lead. Wise then buried her fifth three of the night, and the Lady Tigers drew even at 41-41 on two clutch free throws by Smith with 10 seconds left in regulation.

Presley Bates went two-for-two at the foul line early in the extra session, and Wise found the hoop for a 45-41 lead. Eddins followed with a free throw before Smith scored four straight points and converted two free throws with 41.1 seconds to go. Bates capped the scoring with two foul shots at the 18.9 mark.

Wise led Straughn with 23 points and was followed by Smith with 21, while Bates scored six. Williams paced New Brockton with 23 points as Schmitz garnered 13 points.

The Lady Tigers will host Area 3 runner-up Dale County (7-18) in the sub-regional round on Friday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m.

“My team never quit. They gave me 110 percent all the way to the final buzzer, and because of that, we came out on top. New Brockton has some exceptional athletes. I wish them and Coach Harbuck nothing but the best in the next round,” Lowery said.

Following the game, Bates, Smith, Wise, Schmitz, and Williams were named to the All-Tournament Team.