By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
With a handful of seconds left in the fourth period, the girls varsity basketball team found itself in familiar territory.
A mere three points separated the Eagles, 52-55, from standing equal with 10-1 Cloverdale.
Fueled by the roar of the Friday-night crowd, senior Dasia Wilkerson led the last push, fighting her way to the top of the key.
With a second to spare, she let loose a crisp three-pointer, the buzzer sounded, and the swish of the net followed. The BCHS gymnasium erupted as the Eagles headed for their second overtime battle of the season.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]However, Wilkerson’s last-ditch effort would be all the squad had left in the tank, eventually falling 58-69 in overtime.
“It was a picture-perfect first half, but we knew they were a good team. We knew that it probably wasn’t their norm and that they were going to make a run back at us in the second half,” said Head Coach Matt Roberts.
Against all odds, the Eagles had been leading Cloverdale 33-15 at the start of the second half, more than doubling the score on a squad recently voted into the top 10 of 2A schools.
However, after finally finding their groove, the Clovers clawed back to a single-digit game in the fourth where they would eventually take over.
“We were able to force a comeback into overtime there at the end, but got into a hole and had to play catch-up again,” Roberts said.
He cited composure as one of the reasons for the sudden second-half collapse. “The No. 1 thing we needed to do was slow ourselves down a little bit. … I think the situation flustered us a bit in terms of what we saw with the lead disappearing. I think a little bit of panic set in,” he said.
While understandably upset with the loss, he believes there were still a few positive takeaways from evenly matching a team of that caliber.
“We’ve made a lot of progress if you look back at some of the close games prior to this. They weren’t against teams of that caliber. I feel confident that we’re continuing to grow and improve,” he said.
Junior Gracie Matlock specifically called out the team’s third-quarter play as a limiting factor in their close games.
“I think all of our games that we lose are just right there. We need to learn how to finish and pull it together,” Matlock said.
“We need to not let up in the third quarter because it’s always when we sag.”
However, just like Roberts, she believes there’s still some positivity to salvage despite the deflating last few minutes of play.
“I’m really proud of us because I know we could have beaten them. Last week they lost to Indian Creek by one, so that gives us the confidence that we can beat these teams we’re playing,” Matlock said.
Matlock also echoed her coach’s end-of-season outlook. It’s all about the endgame.
“Coach has been talking to us about how if we try hard and give 100 percent at the end of the season, no one is going to look at our record. It’s all about sectionals,” she said.
