It was Cloudland and Happy Valley—nothing else had to be said.
In a game that see-sawed back and forth, the Happy Valley Lady Warriors rallied from a 60-56 deficit with 21 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and hit their foul shots down the stretch to take a 73-69 win in the extra session.
“We just kept battling and got a couple of good looks, and they didn’t fall,” said Lady Warrior head coach Larry Abel. “They missed a couple of free throws which they had hit well all night. We called a timeout and told them if she hits this then we need a three on that last play and if not someone has to get to the rim
“Seniors are supposed to step up, and Emily (Whitaker) took it on her shoulders and drove hard with a great drive to the rim to put it into overtime,” Abel continued. “We battled in overtime and finished it off by hitting our free throws.”
The first half was tightly contested as neither team was willing to give an inch as the Lady Warriors managed to slip away to the locker room with a slim one-point lead, 33-32.
Lady Warrior point guard Bayley McGee was doing most of the damage for Happy Valley hitting for 11 points. Freshman post Shayln Whitson used her size on the inside to chip in with six points.
Kaitlyn Depriest and Kaitlyn Roberts also added four points for the Lady Warriors.
Cloudland’s Trinity Vines, meanwhile, was keeping her team in contention as she led the way with nine points in the first 16 minutes of action.
Stacia Wilson, Shian Strickland, and Don Rae Taylor each netted six points for the Lady ‘Landers.
The second half was a shootout between both teams as neither could get much separation until the Lady Highlanders were able to build a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
After being solid at the charity stripe all night, Cloudland missed seven free throws in the fourth quarter which allowed the Lady Warriors to put themselves in place to force the overtime.
In the overtime period, Whitson and Adrienne Henegar managed to push Happy Valley out front with four points each and the Lady Warriors hit 7-of-8 down the stretch to seal the win.
McGee played a solid contest for Happy Valley to lead all scorers with 18 points on the night. Whitson had one of her best outings roaming the paint and making important free throws to finish with 17 points.
Whitaker and Haley Green finished with nine points apiece for the Lady Warriors in a contributing role.
Stacia Wilson scored 15 points to lead the Lady ‘Landers while Shian Strickland and Trinity Vines finished in double figures with 12 and ten respectively.
—–
Girls
Happy Valley, 73-69 OT
Cloudland (69)
Stacia Wilson 15, Don Rae Taylor 9, Shian Strickland 12, Abbey Gouge 3,Johanna Johnson 8, Lisa Ellis 9, Megan Lunsford 3, Trinity Vines 10.
Happy Valley (73)
Bayley McGee 18, Kaitlyn Roberts 8, Haley Green 9, Kaitlin Depriest 4, Adrienne Henegar 5, Emily Whitaker 9, Makayla Frazier 3, Shayln Whitson 17.
Cloudland………18 14 13 15 9—69
Happy Valley…..16 17 14 13 13—73
3-PT Goals: Cloudland 2 (Don Rae Taylor 2). Happy Valley 3 (Haley Green, Bayley McGee, Emily Whitaker).