Erica Marshall stood at the free-throw line with no time left on the clock.
One make, and the Bradford Owls would pull off arguably the biggest upset in District 9 girls basketball this year.
After missing the first attempt, Marshall hit nothing but net on the second to give the Lady Owls a 44-43 win over previously unbeaten Punxsutawney, and spoiling the Lady Chucks’ attempt at perfect 22-0 record in their last regular season game.
It’s not quite March, but the madness broke out a bit early at the Bradford High gymnasium Friday.
“I was just thinking that I wanted to get a shot up and hoped that they would foul or it would just go in,” Marshall said after the game. “I usually have real good luck with crazy shots, so I was hoping maybe it would just go in. But when I was on the ground I saw all of my teammates jumping so I knew they called a foul.”
The end of the game sequence was almost too surreal to believe.
Following a Bradford timeout with 7.5 seconds left, Marshall received an inbounds pass and worked the ball to the top of the three-point line, where she heaved up a desperation attempt.
The whistles went simultaneously with the final horn and the referees ruled Punxsy’s (21-1, 9-1) Kate Horner had committed a shooting foul.
The officials had several discussions on whether any time remained, or how many shots to award Marshall, but ultimately gave her three attempts with no time left on the clock and the chance to close out the win.
“That’s a pressure situation for her,” Bradford coach Bob Hannon said. “We do a free-throw shooting fundraiser during the year and she made 86 of 100 free throws so I know she’s capable of doing it. It’s just trying to get your body to slow down and relax to be able to hit it. I’m glad she hit the second one and didn’t need the third one or there would have been pressure on her.”
Friday’s result was quite the turnaround from mid-January, when Punxsy routed Bradford 55-23.
This go-around, Bradford (7-14, 2-7) had to work its way back in the second half after falling behind by five at halftime. But the Lady Owls outscored Punxsy 11-2 in the third quarter and then traded baskets in the fourth to work down to Marshall’s late-game heroics.
“I am so proud of the girls beyond belief,” Hannon said. “ I’m sure there weren’t many people who gave us a chance against this undefeated team but what a way for the seniors to go out.
“That’s a nice team out there. I’m not going to act like it’s no big win for us — it’s a huge win for us.”
The Lady Owls’ offense through three quarters was led by the hot hand of Hannah Lary. The sophomore guard sank three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 22. Marshall, Mackenzee Maley, Morgan Tyger and Lary played the entire 32 minutes for Bradford.
And for as well as the Owls shot offensively in the first half, their defense — against a Punxsy team that used 11 players — was equally up to the task.
“Great job for them with conditioning because I know they were tired at times,” Hannon said of just his six girls that got into the game.
“Maley had a huge steal there…Tyger made a couple of big shots and rebounds there at the end. It’s encouraging for the girls to be able to see if they play hard and have intensity for a whole game that they can get something like that,” Hannon added.
Emily Warner had seven points for Bradford, and hauled down several big rebounds late in the game.
“The thing that was real nice about this game is that we got contributions from everybody,” Hannon said.
For the Chucks, Friday’s defeat not only marked their first loss of the year, but it was also one of the few times they’ve even gone down to the wire against another team. Eighteen of Punxsy’s 21 wins on the year came by 10 points or more.
Riley Presloid, who had 18 against Bradford in the first meeting, was held to 11 on Friday. And Punxsy — one of the top shooting teams from three in the District — could muster just one 3-pointer in the second half.
“To beat Punxsy is crazy,” Marshall said. “The seniors (Maley and Tyger) are my best friends so this win really means a lot.”
The Lady Owls will wrap up their regular season on Monday at St. Marys.
AT BRADFORD
Punxsutawney (43)
Sarah Weaver 2 4-4 10, Riley Presloid 5 0-0 11, Casady 2 1-1 5, Greibel 2 0-0 5, Wyant 1 0-0 2, Gigliotti 1 1-2 3, Horner 2 1-2 7. Totals: 15 7-9 43
Bradford (44)
Hannah Lary 5 9-10 22, Warner 3 1-2 7, Tyger 2 0-0 4, Marshall 3 1-2 9, Maley 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 11-16 44
Punxsy 18 26 28 43
Bradford 11 21 32 44
Three-point goals: Punxsy 5 (Horner 2, Greibel, Presloid, Weaver 2), Bradford 5 (Lary 3, Marshall 2); total fouls: Punxsy 15, Bradford 7 ;fouled out: none
JV: Punxsutawney won
