After starting the season 0-6, the Highland Rams' girls basketball team might have faded into obscurity and an unremarkable season.
Instead, they kept working and kept believing in potential that score didn't reflect, and now they sit in third place in a very competitive Region 6 race.
"We're learning and progressing all of the time," said Rams coach Jill Adams after the Rams defeated West 50-47 in overtime. "And I think we still have a lot of room to grow."
The Rams started the game aggressively and played very deliberately, while the Panthers seemed a little timid defensively. With 2:45 left in the second quarter and the Rams leading 20-9, West coach Ronnie Stubbs called a time out. When the Panthers came out, they began a full-court press of the Rams, which immediately yielded a turnover.
"We've been doing it everyday in practice, but I was trying to save it for the state tournament," he said. "We needed it right now."
The Panther press was very effective and led to four turnovers at the beginning of the second half. It allowed the Panthers to hold Highland to no points the first three and a half minutes, while they scored five. The team's yo-yo-ed back and forth with West getting to within two points with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
West was down by two points with 13 seconds left, when a lay-up missed and Mele Lutui caught the rebound and put it back in the basket just before the buzzer sounded. In the overtime it was more of the same, but West lost its starting post players and point guard to fouls, which allowed the Rams to earn a couple of rebounds that made the difference in the game.
The play that ensured Highland's victory came with less than a minute left when Nane Hakafonu grabbed the rebound and tried to pass the ball out of the key. Highland forward Makenzie Pratt intercepted the pass and then tried to make a basket; she missed, got her own rebound and then was fouled by Hokafonu. It was the forward's fifth foul.
"Foul trouble was a little bit of an issue for us," Stubbs said. "But it really just comes down to concentration."
Stubbs was pleased that his team showed it's defensive power, and very impressed with their region rival.
"Offense wins games; defense wins championships," he said. "Highland did a great job. They could have folded or gotten frustrated, but they played even better."
Adams was the press was tough for her players to handle, and it nearly turned the game in the Panthers' favor.
"We got rattled," she said. 'The momentum shifted, and that energy was theirs. They rode that energy most of the second half. The tide was definitely on their side."
She said she did her best to keep her players calm, and she got some help from Pratt, who is a junior.
"Makenzie plays big night in and night out," she said. "She's a player I want in there 30 to 32 minutes. She's a court presence."
Pratt left the game only for about a minute and a half when she got her third foul, but never fouled again. Her teammates didn't miss a beat without her, and Adams pointed out the two games previous to Friday's the team had five players in double figures. Against West, Pratt led the way with 17 points. Mele Lutui led West with 10 points, while teammate Julia Mecham added eight points.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com