Triple Overtime Leads to Heartbreak - But what a game

This is one of those rare, rare games, where the fans on both sides are up on their feet the bulk of the night, whether they were protesting calls by officials or cheering on their girls that had fallen behind. Definitely one my dd will look back and remember vividly one day.

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[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Patrick Love[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif]Sports Editor[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, Times, Serif]It would have been a redeeming win for Western Harnett if it had ended in double overtime.

Instead it was a tearful end in triple overtime, as visiting Rockingham walked away with a 75-73 win in the second round of the Class 3-A playoffs.

"Our girls played hard. I can't ask for anything else. They gave it all they had," said Western head coach Lewis Cummings.

Inside 10 seconds to play in double overtime, star Western sophomore Ariel Bursey scored three points in four seconds to tie the game against at 66-all. Then senior Angie Lovette picked off Rockingham's inbound and cruised to the basket for what looked to be the game-winner as time expired.

Only it wasn't. The referees granted Rockingham a time out before the inbound, and the game went to triple overtime.

The game's leading scorer with 30 points, Bursey picked up her fourth and fifth fouls within 37 seconds of each other in the first minute of the third overtime period. The fouls were called for basically the same thing - going after the ball on the offensive boards.

"She just reacts and goes for the rebound," said Cummings. "She's a good rebounder, and she usually makes a lot of good things happen rebounding because she's aggressive."

With senior center Tierra Coleman already on the bench having fouled out early in the second overtime, Bursey's loss proved to be too much for Western to overcome.

The Lady Eagles still put up a fight, taking a 73-72 lead on a Courtney Mull free throw with 27 seconds remaining. But Rockingham's Kylie Keck drained what would be the game-winning 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play.

"They'd get a little advantage, and then we'd come back and we'd get a little bit of an advantage, then they'd come back," said Rockingham coach Woody Wall, who had three players foul out. "That's a tough game to lose whoever you are."

A win would have been redeeming for Western Harnett, which started the season 25-0 but forfeited three games when it learned reserve forward Kiki Trapp was ineligible.

This week, Trapp's case went before a review board, which reinstated her eligiblity. The sophomore was back in uniform last night and played several minutes. Cummings said he has not heard yet whether Western's full win total will be reinstated.

Either way, last night was the first time the Lady Eagles had been beaten on the court.

Using a full-court press that forced 16 Western Harnett turnovers in the first half coupled with a four-corners, spread offense, Rockingham led by as many as 16 points in the first half.

Western answered with an 11-0 run going into halftime. Bursey scored eight points in the stretch, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that closed the deficit to 25-20 at the break.

Western used a pair of Bursey baskets to tie the game twice early in the fourth quarter, before taking its first lead on a Mull basket with 5:55 to play. The Lady Eagles extended their lead to as many as five points in the fourth quarter, but Rockingham chipped away, tying the game on a Autumn Carter basket with 40 seconds remaining then taking a 55-54 lead on a Carter free throw with 21 seconds to play.

After another Rockingham free throw extended the lead to two points, Western inbounded with nine seconds to play in regulation and tied the game on a Lovette runner that swished through the hoop with less than two seconds showing on the clock to send the game to overtime.

Two overtime periods later, Western trailed 69-68 when Bursey fouled out with 3:03 to play in triple overtime.

Rockingham extended its lead to three points on a Carter basket, but Western answered with a Mull basket that cut the deficit to 71-70 with 2:26 remaining.

In side a minute to play, Western took the lead when Mull came up with a steal and sent a long pass down the court to Caroline Womble, who made her bank shot to put Western ahead 72-71 with 34 seconds remaining.

Rockingham tied the game at 72 on a Krystal Moore free throw, but Moore missed her second attempt and fouled Mull on the offensive glass. Mull made 1-of-2 free throws to put Western ahead 73-72 before Keck's 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play set the final margin.

"You could say they had a makeshift crew on the court at the end. So did we," said Wall. "You don't know when it's going to be your chance to shine, but when it is, you need to step up and do it."

Keck finished with seven points. Lindsay Puckett led Rockingham with 21 points, while Moore added 14, Carter 13 and Ashley Palm 11.

For Western, Mull added 16 points, while Lovette finished with 12, Coleman nine and Womble seven.[/FONT]

 

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