By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – Through nearly 32 full minutes, the Warriors and Lady Terrors were a perfect match. Battling back-and-fourth through the course of the game, neither Salamanca nor Otto-Eldred could find an edge and in the final 10 seconds, nothing had changed.
After once again knotting the scoreboard with a defensive stop, outlet pass and transition score, the Warriors just had to hold out for one final stop. At least then they would get a fresh start in overtime. However, O-E had other plans.
After calling a timeout with 11 seconds remaining, they drew up the perfect inbounds play, one that found Rayel Hakes streaming off a screen towards the paint, receiving the pass and coming away with a made layup. On the other end, fending off a rebuttal, Hakes struck again, tipping Salamanca’s inbound pass and all but sealing the Lady Terrors 54-52 win over the Warriors.
“Hakes played well late in the game. We’re a really good basketball team when Rayel plays well,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Shawn Gray. “I think we got away with one tonight. We didn’t play well but we got a win.”
Flashback 31 minutes and 50 seconds and Hakes was helping O-E jump out in front, scoring just six seconds into the contest. Although the Lady Terrors added to their early lead with a steal, offensive rebound and split trip to the free throw line from Hakes, as well as a steal and score from Lexi Prince, they failed to widen the gap thereafter.
After going scoreless for nearly two full-minutes, Salamanca’s flood gates opened. Scoring off a pick-and-roll from Mackenzie Crouse, they continued to force themselves into the paint, either by decisive drives or by pulling down offensive rebounds for point-blank second chances. Coupled with their offensive resurgence was a hostile full-court-press that immediately stumped the Lady Terrors. Forcing five turnovers and finding points in bunches, the Warriors entered the second quarter off a 13-5 run that put them ahead by just three.
Although the Warriors’ lead eventually grew to seven with a continued attack of hard-nosed defense and rebounding, O-E slowly began to shut off the valve. A 2-for-2 trip to the charity stripe from Prince ended a two and a half minute drought, before the Lady Terrors began prioritizing ball and player movement, coming away with several productive backdoor cuts. Meanwhile, Salamanca went cold once.
Despite still struggling with turnovers, a 10-2 run at the end of the quarter put the Lady Terrors up by three entering halftime.
The third quarter was a complete battle of runs. To open the second half, Salamanca sparked eight unanswered points with the help of a few steals and fastbreak scores as well as pure shooting beyond the arc. A coast-to-coast bucket from Ella Crouse capped off a 13-0 run, prompting an immediate timeout from the Lady Terrors.
Out of the break, O-E tallied their first bucket of the half from a drive from Hakes. With the dry spell over, it was now their turn to pour on points, scoring eight unanswered in just a minute and a half, narrowing the gap on the scoreboard to just one entering the fourth quarter.
“We have effort, but it’s not consistent. It tends to lack from time to time and that’s one of our biggest problems this year,” said Gray. “That’s one of the things we’re trying to work on: giving the maximum effort you can for as long as you possibly can, consistently.”
Having just eight minutes remaining, both squads scored tick-for-tack. Tacking on points both inside and out, neither team could find separation. Smith finally put the Lady Terrors in front with a deep shot from beyond the arc at the five minute mark, but even though O-E insulated their lead with a 5-0 run, Salamanca quickly found a way to respond.
After struggling to find effective looks at the rim, the Warriors in turn leaned on their physicality. Coming away with several trips to the free throw line, Salamanca ultimately brought the game back to single digits. But their gains came at the price of precious time, and soon they were up against the clock.
Despite the pressure, Salamanca eventually tied the game at 52 with a steal and transition bucket, however, the Warriors watched as their comeback efforts fell short as Hakes sealed the game in the final seconds, securing the Lady Terrors victory.
Three Lady Terrors ended in double-digit scoring figures, with Hakes leading the way with 15. Baylee Francis and Smith both ended with 12, while Prince finished the game with eight points. For Salamanca, Ella Crouse tallied a game-high 19 points, followed by Mackenzie Crouse with 12 and Maliyah Foster with 10.
“It comes down to just being on the same page. (The game) went our way for a little bit, went their way, but at the end of the day, (O-E’s) a good basketball team,” said Salamanca head coach Joe Hinman. “It was good to see some different competition, hate for it to come down to one possession and end like that, but we’ll move on, get back to the drawing board and learn from it.”
AT ALLEGANY
Salamanca (52)
E. Crouse 7 3-4 19, M. Crouse 4 4-5 12, Foster 4 0-0 10, Wass 2 0-0 5, Jimerson 1 0-0 2, Earley 1 0-0 2, Reynolds 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 7-9 52
Otto-Eldred (54)
Hakes 6 3-6 15, Francis 5 0-0 12, Smith 6 3-6 12, Prince 2 2-2 8, Van Scoter 1 0-0 3, Bickford 1 0-0 3, Edminster 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 8-16 54
Salamanca 13 22 37 52
Otto-Eldred 10 25 36 54
Three-point goals: SA (5) E. Crouse 2, Foster 2, Wass, O-E (7) Prince 2, Smith 2, Francis, Van Scoter, Bickford; Total fouls: SA 18, O-E 14; Fouled out: None.
