JV Lady Lions win 51-47 nailbiter in overtime

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

In what has been the most exhilarating win of the season, the Junior Varsity Lady Lions took the Cuero Lady Gobblers to the chopping block and beat them 51-47 in overtime at the Lion’s Den gym on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
The Lady Lions brought the house down in the fourth quarter with a spectacular comeback that included a 24-point

blitz offensively and almost a complete shutdown of scoring from the Lady Gobblers allowing a mere six points.
The Lady Lions were down by 19 points at the end of the third quarter. The game, for all intents and purposes, was in the bag for the Cuero team when seemingly out of nowhere, Lockhart found their groove and began making baskets left and right. It was simply miraculous.
Lockhart kept connecting throughout the fourth, chipping away at the Cuero lead as the Lady Gobblers unraveled with each basket made by the Lady Lions.
At the end of the fourth quarter, the score was tied at 39-39 and it was off to overtime.
The teams were given four minutes to claim a victory. Both teams came out swinging but nothing could stop the momentum that had brought the Lady Lions from behind.
Lockhart scored first with 3:17 left in overtime. With the exception of a 41-41 tie at 2:51, the Lady Lions never lost their lead over the Lady Gobblers. The score went from 43-42 at 2:12 to 44-42 at 2:03. The Lady Gobblers fought hard to come back but they seemed to have exhausted all of their “oomph,” and without any more will power, they were done for.
The teams had the ball going back and forth across the court, changing the score from 45-43 at 1:59 to 46-43 at 1:55 to 46-45 at 1:52 to 48-45 at 1:36 until at 1:12 the score would change to 48-46. The decibels in the gym were immeasurable.
Both teams fought their hearts out for the win. They played hard until it was time to see who wanted it more.
With the fans cheering their respective teams on and the coaches yelling out commands, the Lady Lions scored yet another basket for a 50-46 score at just under 53 seconds left in the game.
The Lockhart fans went wild with excitement until the Lady Gobblers made the last ditch effort with a free throw for their final score of 47 with 22 seconds still on the clock.
The Lady Lions called a timeout to regroup, gather their thoughts and stay in the game. One last free throw would seal the deal for the Lady Lions and it was all over but the yelling from Coach Suiter who pleaded with his team to “Hold the ball! Hold the ball! Hold it! Hold it! Hold it! Hold the ball!”
The Lion fans were on their toes holding their breath until the buzzer went off ending the game at 51-47.
The Lady Lions leapt across the court to meet their teammates while the fans, (made up of mostly family and friends and completely lost in their cheering, clapping, hugging and jubilation), sustained what can only be described as a standing ovation.
The JV game ended with Suiter ecstatically high fiving all his team and celebrating a well earned victory that up to that night had been eluding them.
Scoring for the JV Lady Lions was Desi Winn with a total of 17 points making her the high scorer for the night. Coming in second was Jesi Greer with a total of 13 points. The rest of the points came from Victoria Aguilar with eight, Andrea McKinney with five, Cortney Ferris with four, Shelby Kennedy with three, Jania Michaelson with two and Kaela Amirkabirian with one point.
Congratulations to coach Suiter and his JV Lady Lions who learned what Yogi preached is true. It ain’t over til it’s over.
See you at the game.
agarza@post-register.com