Menu
Lady Tigers furious rally topples Webb City to capture eighth-grade Tri-County crown
Trailing by eight points late in the game, the eighth-grade Nevada Lady Tigers mounted a frantic comeback to flip the script on the Webb City Lady Cardinals and bring home the 2016 Tri-County Conference championship.
Thursday night's 38-37 triumph over Webb City at Joplin South Middle School was a year in the making. The Lady Tigers, who capped its season 15-0 overall, dropped a 37-36 heartbreaker to Webb City in the 2015 seventh-grade TCC title game.
With just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Webb City point guard Sierra Kimbrough caught fire. After banking in a 10-foot jumper to put Webb up three, Kimbrough struck again, drilling a 3-pointer from the right wing to stretch the Lady Cardinals lead to 33-27.
With 3:07 left on the clock, Kimbrough drained a 15-foot baseline jumper, as Webb City led 35-27. With things looking bleak, Nevada head coach Rob Miner called a timeout in order to regroup his squad.
"I told them, 'girls, we got this,'" Miner said of the late-game pep talk. We just needed to man-up on defense and attack the basket."
Out of the timeout, Nevada forward Tylin Heathman scored on an offensive rebound putback. The Lady Tigers then forced a Webb City turnover, and capitalized via Brinna Ream's lay-in to trim the Lady Cardinals lead to 35-31 with 2:47 left to play.
After defensive stops by both teams, Ream found herself back at charity stipe, calmly knocking down a pair of free throws, as the Lady Tigers now trailed 35-33 with 1:40 left to play.
Nevada came up with another key defensive stop, and nearly tied the game with 58 seconds remaining, but Ream's off-balance lay-in rolled off the rim. Things were again looking up for the Lady Cardinals, as a pair of free throws handed Webb City a 37-33 advantage with just 24.5 seconds remaining.
Miner then called a timeout, devising a play that had point guard Alison Bower passing to either Kaylee Duncan or Abby Harder on the wing for a quick 3-point attempt. The play worked to perfection, as Bower dribbled to the top of the key and then found an open Duncan on the right wing. With ice-water in her veins, Duncan swished the 3-pointer, leaving Webb City clinging to a 37-36 lead.
"It was our 'KU Red,'" Miner said of his play-call. "It was all of our 3-point shooters out there, and the first to get open takes the shot."
"When I was coming down the court, I saw they left Kaylee wide-open," Bower told the Daily Mail after the game. "So I passed it to Kaylee and saw it fly, and knew right away it was going in."
After nearly turning the ball over on the inbounds pass from underneath the Nevada basket, Webb burned another timeout with 15.5 seconds showing on the clock. This time, however, the Lady Cardinals were forced to inbound from the sideline ---- presenting a much tougher angle.
On the inbound pass, Harder was able to deflect the ball and come up with the steal. In a frantic sequence, Heathman found herself with the ball driving in for the game-winning basket. Heathman was then hammered by two Webb City players ---- with no referee whistle following.
Ream came up with the loose ball near the free throw line and was swarmed by Webb City defenders, drawing heavy contact. This time, the whistle was blown, sending Ream to the line with 4.6 ticks left on the clock.
Ream knocked down the first free throw, tying the game 37-37. Webb City in-turn called a timeout to give Ream time to think about her second free throw. During the full timeout, Miner said Ream appeared to be somewhat nervous.
"I told her, 'Brinna, you've done this 10,000 times ---- you've got this,'" he said with a smile.
Ream then stepped back to the charity-stripe, swishing the high-arcing free throw, as the Lady Tigers led 38-37, capping a furious 11-2 run.
With time still left on the clock, Nevada forced Webb City into a turnover near midcourt to secure the TCC title.
First half
The Lady Tigers led 9-5 at the conclusion of the first quarter. Nevada increased its lead to 13-7 midway through the second quarter, before Webb City closed the first half on a 10-2 run to grab a 17-15 halftime lead. For Nevada, Heathman had a tremendous first half, making things happen on both ends of the floor.
The Lady Tigers opened the third quarter on a 5-0 blitz, courtesy of a Ream lay-in and Duncan trey. Webb City then outscored Nevada 9-5 over the final three minutes of the third to take a 26-25 lead.
Postgame comments
After the game, Bower and Duncan discussed the emotional victory.
"Last year's (championship game) loss was really tough on us," Bower said. "Coming back here and winning it this year, I think we kind of made a statement for Nevada."
After the game, Duncan shared her thoughts on the critical 3-point make with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
"It's hard to explain," she said. "Ally saw me, it was a good pass and we read each other. That's just how we play."
Duncan said she was a "little nervous" prior to receiving the pass from Bower.
"I was just hoping it was going to go in," she said. "You've got to win it or lose it ---- you have to take that shot."
The Lady Tigers finish their junior high careers 29-1 overall.
"We've had good coaches that have pushed us and made us better," Bower said.
For the Lady Tigers, Ream finished with a team-high 12 points, including 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Heathman tallied 10 points, five rebounds and four steals. Bower finished with eight points, five assists and three steals, while Duncan chipped in with eight points, including two 3-pointers. In addition, Nevada was 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
For Webb City, Kimbrough finished with a game-high 17 points.