Morton Ranch trailed Alief Taylor through the fourth quarter until Laura Anderson stole Taylor’s inbound ball and scored the winning basket, 54-53, with just seconds left.

“When we lost the ball out of bounds, we set up a play to get her (Anderson) the ball and she came through for us,” Morton Ranch coach Pam Bowers said.

The fourth quarter is where the game saw the most action. With a three-point lead, 39-36, Alief Taylor’s Verinus Kalu hit four points followed by Desire Waller with another basket for a nine-point lead.

But Morton Ranch got right back in it, scoring eight points. The eighth point came from SherWayne Chambers to put the Mavericks one basket away from the lead. And on the next play, Chambers fouled out with nine points.

Alief Taylor’s Kalu hit two baskets, but so did Morton Ranch. On the Mavericks’ second basket, Kalu fouled out with 14 points as the Lions’ lead scorer. The Lions hit two more shots for four points and the 53-48 lead.

But Morton Ranch wasn’t giving up.

Peyton Crump and Tierra Dixon both hit their shots. On Alief Taylor’s inbound,  Anderson stole the ball and banked a shot of the backboard for a one-point lead. The Lions had just seconds to get the ball back down the court for a basket to win. Rodneisha Milum took a shot but was fouled by Anderson at the buzzer.

The game was paused for minutes as Morton Ranch fans flooded the court and Alief Taylor fans screamed foul. The referees gave Milum her two shots and she missed them both, giving Morton Ranch the 54-53 victory.

"We talked at halftime about the fact that we had a good game plan and that we didn’t stick to it,” Bowers said. “In order to turn it around, they needed to come back, work hard, and take it one bucket at a time and not quit.”

Subscribe to this comment's feed