Buzzer-beater spurs Berean Academy to win
MANHATTAN — As the final seconds of the third quarter ticked off Wednesday, Berean Academy's Janelle Rust picked up a loose ball and gave it an underhanded heave with both hands toward the basket.
Amazingly, the ball banked in for a three-pointer and the Warriors suddenly led by two. They poured it on in the fourth quarter, holding off Pittsburg Colgan 64-53 in a Class 2A girls quarterfinal at Bramlage Coliseum.
The victory moves the fourth-seeded Warriors (21-3) into Friday's semifinals against top-seeded Olpe (24-0).
Rust's shot seemed to invigorate her teammates and stunned Colgan (20-4).
"I think it kind of took the wind out of our sails," Colgan coach Megan Simmons said, "and I think that kind of ignited them. She put down some shots in the second half that obviously kind of ignited them, not only offensively but kind of picked up their defense, too."
Held to 20 points in the first half on 30-percent shooting, Rust's shot enabled Berean to match its first-half output in the third quarter. The Warriors outscored the Panthers 24-15 in the fourth quarter.
Rust, the Warriors' 5-foot-11 post player who led all scorers with 31 points, said she wasn't thinking about anything when she put up the shot.
"I saw the ball come rolling down, and I saw the clock say '3-2-1,' " she said. "Coach K (Kristen Wiebe) tells us never to give up, so I just grabbed it off the floor and chucked it up."
A fluke shot might well have been the turning point in the game, Rust said.
"I think it was a huge momentum-turner," she said. "After that, we realized how bad we wanted it and we knew we just had to work one more quarter."
Early on, such an outcome could not have been predicted after Colgan controlled the first half from the opening tip. The Panthers held Rust to two points in the first quarter and eight for the half. What's more, Colgan was controlling the boards, with a 16-10 advantage. In fact, much of the Panthers' points came from their ability to rebound, and they finished with a 31-27 advantage for the game.
But Berean was far from being a one-person team. Two sophomores also fired up the offense after halftime. Mallory Zuercher worked inside for putbacks and ended with 14 points, including 6-for-6 from the foul line, and Kayla Wilgers hit two of the Warriors' five three-pointers. Rust hit two others in addition to her third-quarter buzzer-beater.
Wiebe said the Warriors' cold first half didn't bother her nearly as much as their defense. In the first half, Colgan senior Allison McCormick two clutch three-pointers that helped the Panthers move out to an early lead. The second half was a different story.
"Our defense picked up, and we were making their shots tougher in the second half," Wiebe said. "I wasn't pleased with our transition defense, but the rest of our defense I was pleased with."
Olpe 54, Lebo 40 — Junior post Kathryn Flott made 12 of 21 shots, including a three-pointer, and Olpe (24-0) defeated Lyon County League rival Lebo (16-8) for the third time this season.
Turnovers doomed the Wolves, who committed 18 in the first half. Olpe held Lebo to two points in the second quarter.