Briercrest claims bronze in thrilling 66-64 win over St. Mary’s
Briercrest claims bronze in thrilling 66-64 win over St. Mary's
The Briercrest College Clippers kept climbing out of holes to eke out a thrilling 66-64 victory over the St. Mary's Lightning and capture the bronze medal in the ACAC Women's Basketball Championship Saturday afternoon at Lethbridge College.
A steal and layup by the Lightning's Jazmynn Kellogg (third year, Psychology, Calgary) with nine seconds to play knotted the score at 64, setting the stage for the final dramatics, engineered by Briercrest point guard Dori Sunderland (second year, Psychology, Paradise Valley, Alta.), who pushed the ball up court and found teammate Eve Duerksen (first year, Biblical Studies, Coaldale) for the winning layup with 1.7 seconds on the clock.
"It was a little nerve-wracking at the end," Clippers coach Anthony Skepple laughed.
"I've got to give credit to St. Mary's. They're a great team, very well-coached. Our girls clutched up and came out and made some great plays at the end."
None was greater than the final basket.
"We told our point guard to get in the lane and find someone who was open, and she found a first year (Duerksen). . . It was a big, big shot for a first-year player to make."
He also praised Sunderland on the play. "She came off the bench after sitting for three or four minutes and made a great play to get in the lane and find someone."
The Clippers battled back from 11-point deficits in the second, third and fourth quarters, including a 62-51 disadvantage with eight minutes to play. Each time, Briercrest regrouped and charged back.
"There's no quit in them," Skepple said of his players. "They really showed their character today, coming out after a tough loss yesterday, to come back and battle and not quit at all."
Amber Fichtner (third year, Psychology, Yorkton, Sask.) scored 15 points and hauled down 11 rebounds for the Clippers while Madison Beattie (third year, Business Administration, Baddeck, N.S.) added 15 points and eight rebounds. Brooklyn Martens (third year, English, Caronport, Sask.) contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fichtner also earned All-Tournament honours while Martens was chosen as Briercrest's player of the game.
Kellogg led the Lightning with 18 points while Andria Stitt (third year, Biology, Birmingham, Ala.) added 13. Ivet Hidalgo (second year, Psychology, Calgary) and Danya Osterling (fifth year, Bachelor of Education, Calgary) each scored 11. Maitlynn Wilde (third year, Elementary Education, Lethbridge) added eight points and 10 rebounds, and was also named to the All-Tournament team.
Briercrest outshot St. Mary's 37.1 per cent to 30.4 per cent for the game and grabbed 50 rebounds to 35 by the Lightning. The Clippers also owned a sizeable edge at the free throw line, hitting 18 foul shots to seven by St. Mary's.
St. Mary's came out of the first quarter with a 15-10 lead and ran the margin to 23-12 in the early minutes of the second quarter. Then the Clippers began to find their stride and chipped away at the deficit, finally moving in front 26-25 on a rebound and basket by Amber Fichtner with 2:20 to play. The half ended with Briercrest on top 31-30.
The Lightning opened a 48-37 lead late in the third quarter and ended the period in front 54-46. Briercrest pulled to within five early in the fourth quarter before St. Mary's pulled away again, leading 62-61 with eight minutes to play before the Clippers launched their game-winning comeback.
Players of the Game:
Lightning: #3 Jazmynn Kellogg
Clippers: #7 Brooklyn Martens