Sargent's steal seals victory for Lady Tigers

Saturday, January 23, 2016

A late steal by Nevada Lady Tigers sophomore point guard Brooke Sargent helped to lock-up a 38-34 victory over the Prairie View Lady Buffaloes of La Cygne, Kan. ---- Friday night at the Kansas Army National Guard Invitational in Frontenac.

With the win, Nevada advances to the tournament championship game against Blue Valley Southwest, today at 5 p.m.

Things appeared bleak for Nevada, as they trailed nearly the entire game. The Lady Tigers faced a 34-26 deficit entering the fourth quarter, before ending the game on a 12-0 run.

Nevada's Megan Hold dropped in the first four points of the fourth quarter, via a pair of free throws followed by a short jumper, to cut its deficit to 34-30.

A Jadyn Swearingen jumper trimmed the Lady Buffaloes lead to 34-32.

After several turnovers and missed opportunities by both teams, the Lady Tigers broke through with a Madi Culbertson 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining in regulation. The Culbertson trey putting Nevada up 35-34, was the first time the Lady Tigers led since the score was 1-0.

Nevada had an opportunity to increase its lead to three with 58 seconds left on the clock, but was unable to capitalize at the free throw line. Culbertson however, came up with the offensive rebound but then turned the ball over after dribbling off her foot and out-of-bounds.

Clinging to a one-point lead, Nevada survived a scare as Bayleigh Boone's 3-point attempt rimmed in-and-out. Nevada forward Megan Payne corralled the rebound and was immediately fouled, and proceeded to knock down both free throws to put the Lady Tigers up 37-34 with 20 seconds left to play.

After burning its final timeout, the Lady Buffaloes advanced the ball up-court, but were unable to get a look as Sargent stepped into the passing lane and came up with steal. Sargent, who was fouled with 16.7 ticks on the clock, stepped to the charity stripe and missed the first free throw. With the pressure on, Sargent knocked down the critical second free throw to make it a two possession game, delivering the semifinal victory.

The sixth-seeded Lady Tigers opened the tournament Thursday with a 51-50 victory over the third-seeded Frontenac Lady Raiders. For Nevada, Culbertson scored a team-high 14 points.

Back-to-back victories improve the Lady Tigers to 5-9 overall.

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