RallyNorth.net

Little Green clips Owls late

Monday, March, 03 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

HOOKSETT, N.H. | Forgive Kristin Crotts for being shocked.

Timberlane had this one locked up. Or so she thought.

"We all just didn't think we were going to lose," the senior forward said.

The No. 7 Owls led No. 2 Manchester Central late in the fourth quarter of their Class L quarterfinal matchup before falling, 51-48, in overtime. The end, Crotts admitted, was painful.

"We played as well as we could," she said. "We didn't leave anything on the court."

Crotts (9 points) nearly put her team over the top by herself in the fourth. With Timberlane trailing 43-40 with 2:43 remaining , she hit a pair of free throws. Two possessions later, she sank a layup to give the Owls a 44-43 lead.

After a steal by Meghan Sciuto (6 points), junior guard Leah Swanson hit 1 of 2 free throws to give Timberlane a two-point advantage.

The Little Green, however, would not be denied. Catherine O'Neill's putback with four seconds remaining tied the score and sent the crowd at Southern New Hampshire University into a frenzy.

In the extra frame, senior Sam Wheeler (team-high 15 points) made a driving layup to give the Owls a 48-47 lead. It was the last points they'd score.

Central's Christiana Bakolas made four unanswered free throws to give the Little Green a three-point advantage with 14 seconds remaining. Timberlane had one last shot to tie it, but missed a trey at the buzzer.