Pasadena Citizen - Sports
Rayburn girls topPasadena in overtime
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| Pasadena’s Vangie Tellez, whose foul shooting kept her teammates alive late, looks inside while Rayburn’s Charlene Umunnakwe closes in during Saturday afternoon’s overtime contest. |
By ROBERT AVERY
The Sam Rayburn and Pasadena varsity girls' basketball teams kicked off 2009 in spine-tingling fashion Saturday afternoon.
Sam Rayburn’s Shara Dimas scored her only bucket of the game with nine seconds remaining in overtime as the Lady Texans held off the Eagles in thrilling fashion 38-36 in a District 22-5A game at the Bob Barfield Sports Complex.
Pasadena’s Vanessa Ramos let loose with a last-second shot, but it missed its mark, enabling Sam Rayburn to escape with its third straight win over Pasadena, dating back to last season. Ramos’ attempt was the culmination to Pasadena getting a ballhandler behind a Sam Rayburn full-court press and dribbling towards the basket, before passing off to Ramos, who was standing to the left of the goal.
The game-winning bucket in overtime looked very similar to a Sam Rayburn score at the close of regulation. Only that one didn’t hold up as the game-winner. Charlene Umunnakwe, who helped Sam Rayburn rally from six points down over the final 3:03, dramatically scored with only eight seconds to play. But this time, Pasadena answered back as Candace Riojas, all alone under the basket, scored as time expired.
But in the overtime, Rayburn, now 1-2 in district play, never trailed. But with the score deadlocked at 34-34, Rayburn scored with 51 seconds remaining thanks in part on a pretty pass and assist from Dimas.
Pasadena, 0-3, fell just shy of a badly-needed victory because of some poor free-throw shooting. For the entire fourth period and half of the overtime, the Lady Eagles were an ice-cold 4-of-14 from the foul line. Not once but twice, Pasadena had the opportunity in the fourth period to double a three-point lead from the line and couldn’t do it, going 0-for-4.
But ironically, it was some clutch foul shooting that kept Pasadena in the hunt for the final minute of overtime. Twice, Vangie Tellez went to the line and converted four times, creating ties at 34-34 and at 36-36. The second time came with 30 seconds remaining.
Pasadena had a lead as large as six points with two minutes remaining in regulation and leading 28-22. That’s when moments later the team had the chance to keep the advantage at six by shooting well at the foul line. Instead, Sam Rayburn tied it at 29-29 with 34 seconds to play on a huge Nieto bucket from the left corner. The bucket was the end result of some crisp passing along the perimeter, but the Lady Texans found Nieto in the corner waiting for the ball. Umunnakwe’s heroics then followed with eight ticks left.
Nieto and Umunnakwe co-led the winners with 13 points.
Ten Lady Eagles scored points, including seven from Michelle Sanders, six by Tellez and five by Deanna Escalante.
Sam Rayburn’s Shara Dimas scored her only bucket of the game with nine seconds remaining in overtime as the Lady Texans held off the Eagles in thrilling fashion 38-36 in a District 22-5A game at the Bob Barfield Sports Complex.
Pasadena’s Vanessa Ramos let loose with a last-second shot, but it missed its mark, enabling Sam Rayburn to escape with its third straight win over Pasadena, dating back to last season. Ramos’ attempt was the culmination to Pasadena getting a ballhandler behind a Sam Rayburn full-court press and dribbling towards the basket, before passing off to Ramos, who was standing to the left of the goal.
The game-winning bucket in overtime looked very similar to a Sam Rayburn score at the close of regulation. Only that one didn’t hold up as the game-winner. Charlene Umunnakwe, who helped Sam Rayburn rally from six points down over the final 3:03, dramatically scored with only eight seconds to play. But this time, Pasadena answered back as Candace Riojas, all alone under the basket, scored as time expired.
But in the overtime, Rayburn, now 1-2 in district play, never trailed. But with the score deadlocked at 34-34, Rayburn scored with 51 seconds remaining thanks in part on a pretty pass and assist from Dimas.
Pasadena, 0-3, fell just shy of a badly-needed victory because of some poor free-throw shooting. For the entire fourth period and half of the overtime, the Lady Eagles were an ice-cold 4-of-14 from the foul line. Not once but twice, Pasadena had the opportunity in the fourth period to double a three-point lead from the line and couldn’t do it, going 0-for-4.
But ironically, it was some clutch foul shooting that kept Pasadena in the hunt for the final minute of overtime. Twice, Vangie Tellez went to the line and converted four times, creating ties at 34-34 and at 36-36. The second time came with 30 seconds remaining.
Pasadena had a lead as large as six points with two minutes remaining in regulation and leading 28-22. That’s when moments later the team had the chance to keep the advantage at six by shooting well at the foul line. Instead, Sam Rayburn tied it at 29-29 with 34 seconds to play on a huge Nieto bucket from the left corner. The bucket was the end result of some crisp passing along the perimeter, but the Lady Texans found Nieto in the corner waiting for the ball. Umunnakwe’s heroics then followed with eight ticks left.
Nieto and Umunnakwe co-led the winners with 13 points.
Ten Lady Eagles scored points, including seven from Michelle Sanders, six by Tellez and five by Deanna Escalante.
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