SHORELINE — Although only a sophomore, Shorewood guard Abby Gustafson doesn’t lack for confidence.
Gustafson promised her coach, Erica Merkley, that she would make a critical free throw late in Friday’s game against Everett, but missed, which allowed the Seagulls to tie the game and force overtime.
However, Gustafson redeemed herself by making all four free-throws in the extra period to help the Thunderbirds earn a big 78-73 Wesco 3A win.
“(Abby) said she felt bad about the miss and wanted to make sure she hit them all in overtime,” said Merkley.
The circumstances surrounding Gustafson’s missed attempt were unusual.
She made the front-end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds remaining in the game to give Shorewood a three-point lead. After an Everett timeout, Gustafson was in her shooting motion for her second free throw when an errant buzzer sounded. Gustafson made the free throw, but according to Merkley, an official waved it off, ruling he had blown his whistle prior to her attempt. The Seagulls were able to rebound the missed third attempt and Sydney Taggart drilled a 3-pointer to force overtime.
Taggart’s shot capped a furious second-half rally for Everett. At one point the Seagulls found themselves down by 16 before outscoring Shorewood 20-5 in the fourth quarter to extend the game.
Everett’s Sidney Rielly led all-scorers with 29 points, with 20 coming in the first half.
But the Thunderbirds overcame Rielly’s performance with balance. Five Shorewood players scored in double figures led by Lily Gustafson’s 19 points. Lily Gustafson also added 13 rebounds and three steals and Karrin Leazer had 16 rebounds and six steals.
At Shorewood H.S.
Everett211392010—73
Shorewood261614515—78
Everett—Megan Dedrick 3, Caroline Overstreet 3, Sydney Taggart 15, Darian Rielly 12, Sidney Rielly 29, Julie Ramirez 0, Amber Hagar 11, Katy Hedington 0. Shorewood—Kayla Bradley 14, Salyna McDonald 4, Mika Morgan 3, Abby Gustafson 10, Lily Gustafson 19, Danica Bernabe 12, Karrin Leazer 14, Taryn Shelley 2. 3-point goals—Dedrick, Taggart 2, D. Rielly 2, Bradley 2, Morgan, A. Gustafson, Bernabe. Records—Everett 4-1 league, 8-4 overall. Shorewood 2-3, 8-4.
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