TACOMA — After leading by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, the Snohomish Panthers found themselves trailing fifth-ranked Lewis and Clark by five in the final minute of Thursday’s 4A girls state quarterfinal. It seemed the Panthers were going to let a golden opportunity slip away.
Senior Madison Pollock had other ideas.
Pollock hit a 3-point field goal with 28 seconds remaining to end a 12-0 run by the Tigers and cut the deficit to 46-44.
Moments later, after a missed free throw by Lewis and Clark senior Riley Lupfer with 5.6 seconds remaining, Pollock took a pass from freshman guard Maya Duchesne and drove the length of the court for a layup at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, where the Panthers went on to win 54-50 — their 21st straight victory.
“It was just unreal,” Pollock said of her regulation buzzer-beater. “I just took it and tried to draw the foul, but it went in.”
Pollock, who said she didn’t even know the shot went in until she saw the fans and her teammates cheering, said she looks at the clock often to be “mentally aware of what’s happening.” She did again in that crucial moment and it paid off.
The Panthers prepared for just such a situation this week in practice. “We did some situations this week where we talked to the girls about how long five seconds is,” Snohomish head coach Ken Roberts said.
Senior forward Madeline Smith rebounded Lupfer’s miss and passed the ball to Duchesne, who quickly passed to Pollock. Roberts wanted the ball to go straight to Pollock because of how little time was remaining, but Pollock still managed to beat the buzzer.
Well, maybe.
“It was close. I mean it was really close,” Roberts said. “I think it was good, but I was surprised she was able to get there because of the delay at the beginning.”
The call could have gone either way, but Lewis and Clark head coach George Pfeifer didn’t complain. “They counted it, (she) must have (beat the buzzer),” he said.
Pollock’s shot would have meant nothing had it not been for the Tigers’ struggles at the free-throw line in the closing minutes. They missed the front-end of three one-and-ones in the final 36.8 seconds to give the Panthers an opportunity to tie the game.
“It’s just a free throw — easy shot,” Lupfer said. “We make our free throws and that’s (six) points.”
Snohomish made all six or its foul shots in overtime to put the game away.
“We got lucky,” Roberts said. “They missed free throws they don’t normally miss. At the same time, we played our butts off. We played hard. We missed a lot of shots that could have had us in the lead. … It was a great game by both teams.”
Pollock finished with 22 points to lead the Panthers. Smith chipped in 18.
“We knew down here that there are teams that match up better with Madeline size-wise, so she’s not going to dominate as much as in league,” Roberts said. “So Madison is going to have to take over and it was great to see her do it. She’s going to need to do the same thing again tomorrow.”
The Panthers trailed 21-19 at halftime, but used a 14-0 run to open the third quarter to take control of the game. The Tigers went on a 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter to build their a five-point lead.
“It was an incredible high school game with runs both ways and I’m just excited for the girls that they’re where they’re at right now,” Roberts said.
In overtime, all the momentum was with the Panthers.
“We were pumped that we even tied it,” Pollock said. “Everyone was just so hyped, so going into that overtime we had a job to do, so now we had to just finish it.
“It’s senior year and I wanted to do it for everyone on the team,” Pollock added. “That was just my mentality. We can’t go out losing in the (first game in Tacoma).”
Snohomish faces Bothell at 3:45 p.m. in one of Friday’s semifinals. The Cougars kept the Panthers from advancing to the Tacoma Dome a year ago with a 45-39 win in the loser-out regional round. That will be far from the Panthers minds on Friday, Robert said.
“We’re in the semifinals,” he said, “last year doesn’t matter.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At the Tacoma Dome
Lewis and Clark13811144—50
Snohomish1091988—54
Lewis and Clark—Jacinta Buckley 10, Riley Lupfer 22, Dominique Arquette 0, Mary Stoa 4, Skyler Kelli 0, Taylor Cunningham 8, Brook Howlett 6. Snohomish—Katie Brandvold 6, Maya Duchesne 2, Emily Preach 0, Shaylee Harwood 6, Madison Pollock 22, Madeline Smith 18, Kyra Beckman 0, Ellie Flitsch 0. Records – Lewis and Clark 18-7. Snohomish 21-3.
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