By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
SAND ROCK – Sand Rock freshman guard Hadlie Weaver and sophomore guard Paitlyn Hughes came up big off the bench against Hokes Bluff on Thursday night.
Just seconds after being inserted into the game late in the fourth quarter, Weaver spotted up from the corner and sank a trey with 35.8 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Then in the second extra session, it was Hughes’ turn to take a big shot. She too hit a big 3-pointer to put Sand Rock up four with less than two minutes to go, lifting the Class 2A, No. 3 Lady Wildcats to a thrilling 53-47 victory.
“I don’t know how we won that game,” Sand Rock coach Lisa Bates said. “I know Hadlie came in, hadn’t played the whole game, and I said ‘Go hit a 3’ and she goes ‘OK.’ She goes in there and hits a 3. She stepped up and did what I asked her to do and tied it up. That was huge.
“Then Paitlyn hit a big 3 that put us up (in the second overtime), and then we had some defensive stops. There were times tonight where we weren’t focused on defense, but when it came down to the overtimes we were.”
After Sand Rock starters Maddie Clanton and Macey Pruitt fouled out, things were looking dim for the Lady Wildcats (19-6), but Weaver and Hughes said they had confidence they could go in and get the job done.
“I’m used to it,” Weaver said. “I’ve won games in travel ball. You’ve just got to breathe and hit it. It wasn’t anything special. She (Bates) didn’t draw anything up. She just told me to spot up and shoot, and that was my spot where I like to shoot.”
“When you’re on the bench watching your team, you know have a role you have to play,” added Hughes. “I knew at the end of the day my team needed me and I had to step up.”
Hokes Bluff led the entire game until junior forward Megan Smith tied it up at 38 on a basket with 3:44 remaining in regulation. From there, the Lady Wildcats began to believe, and it led to Weaver’s trey that forced the first overtime.
“Megan is solid. She really stepped it up,” Bates said. “That was a big shot. It kind of turned things for us because the whole night we were behind. When we got ahead (in overtime), we thought ‘Oh, we might can win this.’”
But the Lady Eagles proved resilient themselves in the first overtime.
With Sand Rock up 47-45 with less than a minute to go, Mary Davenport got a steal and a basket to tie the game at 47 with 33 seconds remaining, which ultimately forced the second overtime.
Sand Rock sophomore guard Peyton Johnson had a chance to break the tie when she was fouled and sent to the line with 4.1 seconds remaining in the first overtime, but both of her foul shots fell short.
Johnson was fouled again to open the second overtime. She hit the first free throw and missed the second, which set the stage for Hughes. Following a Hokes Bluff turnover, Hughes hit her 3-pointer with just under two minutes remaining.
Johnson and sophomore Molly Grace Lay added a free throw apiece down the stretch for the final.
“That was a big game for us to learn some things,” Bates said. “We haven’t been in that situation much.”
Hokes Bluff led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Eagles extended their lead to 23-17 at halftime and held as much as an 11-point edge in the third quarter.
“We had a lot of lack of communication,” Bates said. “We scored 17 points the first half. That’s just not us. I’m still not sure how we won the game, but I’m glad we got the ‘W.’ Maybe we learned something from it for the postseason.”
Clanton led Sand Rock with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson added 10 points and four steals. Lay finished with five points and seven steals.
Addie Simmons topped Hokes Bluff with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Pressley Wall added nine points, including a pair of treys. Mazely Ball finished with seven points.
