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Lady Deer hand Mavs last-second loss
By ROBERT AVERY
DEER PARK – Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, the Deer Park High School varsity girls basketball team were the premier snatchers Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Deer rallied from four points down in the final 19 seconds to shock Memorial 48-47 in a disbelieving District 22-5A contest at Cotton Watkins Gymnasium.
After Deer Park scored what seemed at the time as a meaningless bucket to cut the Lady Maverick lead to 47-45 with only precious seconds to play, Memorial watched its ensuing inbounds pass get tipped and Ashley DelaCruz pick the basketball off the floor and launch a rainbow shot from the left side that found the cylinder for the game-winning 3-point goal as time expired. DelaCruz had so little time for the game-winner that all she had time to do was stand up and shoot in one single motion. Minus defenders around her, she had a clear view of the goal when she fired the ball off. It was DelaCruz’s only points of the afternoon.
Deer Park improves to 3-0 for the district race, while Memorial slips to 1-2.
“All week long we’ve been talking about our shooting and shooting more and shooting more. She gets open shots and when she misses her first one, she won’t shoot anymore. She gets in a slump,” Deer Park head coach Theresa White said. “When she shot it, I was just in shock. And then I realized it hit the glass and went in.”
“We’ve got to learn that when we’re up two possessions, we’ve got to take care of the ball a little bit better. We didn’t, we made some mistakes right there at the end that cost us,” a dejected Memorial head coach Barbara Leon said. “At the same time, we started the game with five unforced turnovers. Those could have been converted into points. I’m proud of my kids because they played hard. We’re getting better. I know we’re going to be there. I know it’s going to happen. We kind of gave it away. Not to take anything away from Deer Park. They didn’t give up. But we flat out gave it away. It’s a hard lesson to learn. They’re hurting right now.”
The game appeared over when Memorial’s Jessica Gonzalez drained a pair of free throws with 19 seconds to play, creating a 47-43 Lady Mavs lead.
Sarah Hahn also sank a pair of pressure-packed foul shots with 47 seconds remaining to create another four-point lead.
But each time, Deer Park rushed the ball up the floor and collected clutch scores to maintain a pulse. Jessica Hardcastle, who finished with eight points, scored with 53 seconds to play and again after Hahn’s two free throws and just 35 seconds remaining.
Katie Whitaker finished with a game-high 17 points but she was held scoreless in the fourth period. Memorial received 12 points from Isis Wilson, six of her 12 coming in the fourth, while Gonzalez tacked on 10 and Lisa Ramirez scored nine.
From the foul line, Deer Park was 14-of-19 for 74 percent and Memorial was 18-of-26 for 69 percent.
“It’s going to be a tough battle every night. We’ve got some tough teams now,” White said.
The Lady Deer rallied from four points down in the final 19 seconds to shock Memorial 48-47 in a disbelieving District 22-5A contest at Cotton Watkins Gymnasium.
After Deer Park scored what seemed at the time as a meaningless bucket to cut the Lady Maverick lead to 47-45 with only precious seconds to play, Memorial watched its ensuing inbounds pass get tipped and Ashley DelaCruz pick the basketball off the floor and launch a rainbow shot from the left side that found the cylinder for the game-winning 3-point goal as time expired. DelaCruz had so little time for the game-winner that all she had time to do was stand up and shoot in one single motion. Minus defenders around her, she had a clear view of the goal when she fired the ball off. It was DelaCruz’s only points of the afternoon.
Deer Park improves to 3-0 for the district race, while Memorial slips to 1-2.
“All week long we’ve been talking about our shooting and shooting more and shooting more. She gets open shots and when she misses her first one, she won’t shoot anymore. She gets in a slump,” Deer Park head coach Theresa White said. “When she shot it, I was just in shock. And then I realized it hit the glass and went in.”
“We’ve got to learn that when we’re up two possessions, we’ve got to take care of the ball a little bit better. We didn’t, we made some mistakes right there at the end that cost us,” a dejected Memorial head coach Barbara Leon said. “At the same time, we started the game with five unforced turnovers. Those could have been converted into points. I’m proud of my kids because they played hard. We’re getting better. I know we’re going to be there. I know it’s going to happen. We kind of gave it away. Not to take anything away from Deer Park. They didn’t give up. But we flat out gave it away. It’s a hard lesson to learn. They’re hurting right now.”
The game appeared over when Memorial’s Jessica Gonzalez drained a pair of free throws with 19 seconds to play, creating a 47-43 Lady Mavs lead.
Sarah Hahn also sank a pair of pressure-packed foul shots with 47 seconds remaining to create another four-point lead.
But each time, Deer Park rushed the ball up the floor and collected clutch scores to maintain a pulse. Jessica Hardcastle, who finished with eight points, scored with 53 seconds to play and again after Hahn’s two free throws and just 35 seconds remaining.
Katie Whitaker finished with a game-high 17 points but she was held scoreless in the fourth period. Memorial received 12 points from Isis Wilson, six of her 12 coming in the fourth, while Gonzalez tacked on 10 and Lisa Ramirez scored nine.
From the foul line, Deer Park was 14-of-19 for 74 percent and Memorial was 18-of-26 for 69 percent.
“It’s going to be a tough battle every night. We’ve got some tough teams now,” White said.
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