Shayla Newman converted a short bank shot in the final six seconds to give the visiting Montgomery High girls a thrilling 44-43 North Bay League basketball win Jan. 21 over Casa Grande.
It wasn’t the first time that Newman eluded the concentration of the Gauchos, and her wide-open look sealed the deal after the two teams exchanged the lead in the final minutes.
“She is their top scorer, and we talked about her positioning before the game,” said a disappointed Casa coach Dan Sack. “We knew who she is, and still could not find her.”
Newman also had several earlier opportunities in back of the match-zone during the flow of the game, and she wound up with 16 points to pace all scorers.
Casa Grande led 37-34 at the end of the third stanza and 3-point shots by Cassidy McKinney and Kayla Ryan helped the Gauchos maintain a narrow lead until the final sequence.
With ball-handling leader Destiny Grayer at the controls, the Vikings rotated the ball to the wing, and a quick pass to an unguarded Newman resulted in the game-winner.
Casa Grande got off to its customary cold start to begin the game and trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening quarter. A 3-point shot by junior forward Molly Lundquist helped the Gauchos get back into the fray, and they cut the margin to 12-7 at the end of the stanza.
McKinney warmed up with three running shots before intermission, and received help on the offensive end from Lundquist and Joy Jovick to cut the advantage to only 23-22 at the halfway mark.
Jovick got into the flow despite being hounded by Abby Lea of the Vikes, and controlled the boards on the defensive end in addition to scoring a big basket underneath.
The problem for Jovick was that she was whistled for her third foul before the end of the third quarter. Then, with freshman Mia Crain waiting at the scorer’s table to check in for her, Jovick converted on a three-point play to help Casa maintain its lead.
Ryan drained a 3-point shot from the corner, and finished with seven crucial points in the period.
A critical fifth foul on a touch near the sideline sent Jovick to the bench with a minute and 30 seconds remaining.
With the game on the line, a clutch shot by McKinney from outside the arc countered a put back by Newman, and the stage was set for the last Newman possession of the contest.
Following a timeout by Lady Viking coach Stephan Bell, the ball was worked to the left side of the floor when Newman was suddenly found unguarded for an easy banker.
Casa had only six seconds to counter, and McKinney moved the ball swiftly up the floor and got off a rushed shot which fell off the rim. A follow underneath at the buzzer fell short, and the Gauchos suffered their third consecutive North Bay League loss in the final seconds of the game.
McKinney scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Gauchos, who fell to 2-4 in the NBL and 10-7 for the season.
Jovick accounted for 12 points before leaving, and grabbed a game- high 14 rebounds.
Ryan had one of her best offensive outputs with 10 points, and she turned in a solid floor game.
Casa Grande still has an outside chance of forging its way into the NBL postseason tournament, but the Gauchos will have to turn around all the close losses suffered in the first half of play.
Montgomery improved to 4-2 in league play and 9-9 overall.
On Friday night in Santa Rosa, the Lady Gauchos suffered a 69-26 loss at the hands of league-leading Cardinal Newman.
The tall Cardinals completed a sweep of the first round of play in the North Bay League by rushing to a 20-7 lead over the visitors and never looked back.
Kylie Kietch moved over the 1,000-point mark in total points for her career with 14 for Newman.
Lundquist rimmed in nine points for Casa as the Gauchos slipped to 10-8 for the season.
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