No. 10 Bees clip No. 23 Heritage in OT

Jayci Morton led Stephenville with 11 points, but it was Godley that celebrated a district championship Tuesday. || TheFlashToday.com file photo

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (January 9, 2017) — Jordan Carter and Hailey Martin combined to knock down the final three points from the free throw line and No. 10 Stephenville held off upstart No. 23 Midlothian Heritage, 46-43, in an 8-4A district overtime nail biter at Gandy Gym Monday.

Carter stole an inbound pass in the backcourt and went right up with it, drawing contact and earning a trip to the stripe with 55 seconds left in the overtime. She missed the first but made the second to break a 43-43 tie.

Heritage guard Jasmine Bailey tried to attack the basket, but Martin and Jayci Morton combined to knock the ball away and Martin came up with it and was fouled. She made both with 17.33 seconds remaining to finish the scoring.

Heritage guard Emma Arnold, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half, missed the mark on an attempt just before the buzzer, and Martin grabbed the rebound just as time expired.

The victory sets up a battle of 8-4A district co-leaders Friday, also at Gandy Gym. Stephenville hosts No. 3 Godley for a top 10 showdown on Coach’s For A Cure Night.

Morton led all scorers with 21 points including 10 in the first, nine in the fourth and two in the overtime.

Stephenville trailed 32-28 after a step-back 3-pointer by Jasmine Bailey 10 seconds in to the fourth. Bailey led Heritage with 15 points while Emma Arnold netted 14.

Arnold scored a put back for a 43-41 Heritage lead in the opening seconds of overtime, but Morton answered with a bucket in the paint for Stephenville.

Then a standoff ensued as the team’s combined for nine straight scoreless possessions in the face of the tough defenses both state-ranked teams are known for, and it was still tied when the last of those possessions was stolen away by Carter when she was fouled and hit what officially stood as the game-winning free throw.

The teams were in overtime because Heritage overcame a 40-36 deficit after Payton Wall put Stephenville up two possessions with a ball fake and a nice 17-footer with 1:41 to go in regulation.

Arnold was fouled shooting a 3 and hit all the free throws to bring Heritage within one before Morton hit one of two from the stripe for a 41-39 Stephenville edge with exactly a minute to go.

But Bailey drove right past the Honeybee defense and scored a layup in transition just nine seconds later, and each team missed opportunities the final 51 seconds to send the game to overtime at 41-41.

For Stephenville, Tess Baker scored eight, all in the first half, and Wall added seven. Martin and Carter each had three, while Blair Landes and Liz Pack each netted two.

Stephenville finished the first quarter with a flurry for a 14-13 lead. Tesslie Baker scored in transition after a Hailey Martin steal to bring the Honeybees within one, then Heritage threw the ball away without anyone touching it, giving the Bees a bonus possession with 2.47 seconds left.

Jayci Morton sprung open off a screen at the left block, took the inbound pass and kissed it off the glass for the one-point margin. That ended a 10-point opening quarter for Morton, a sophomore.

The Honeybees continued the run with the first five points of the second on a Baker two in the paint and a Payton Wall 3, making it 19-13 and a 9-0 run.

Heritage responded, as it did all night. The Jaguars finished the half on a 10-4 push, evening it up at 23-23 at intermission. Arnold hit her third 3 during that stretch, and Bailey scored the tying bucket underneath.

Stephenville did not score in the final 2:30 of the second quarter and had only a free throw over the first 6:44 of the third. The stretch of more than nine minutes without a field goal ended when Pack scored her only points inside after Heritage had scored six of the first seven in the new half, taking a 29-24 lead.

Stephenville only had to wait 36 seconds for its next bucket, however, as Carter scored to bring the Bees within 29-28, and the score didn’t change the last 40 seconds of the third.

Heritage has been quite the upstart program. A third-year school in its first year of playoff eligibility, the Jaguars are coached by 1997 Stephenville High School graduate Jason Hodges, who was a graduate assistant at Tarleton State from 2002-04 for Division II men’s coaching legend Lonn Reisman.

The Bees dominated Heritage by 20 to win Heritage’s tournament in December. They will meet again at Heritage High School on January 31.