SNOHOMISH — Hail Mary, full of treys.
Mary Ochiltree — who holds the school record for 3-point shots made — buried an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Lake Stevens Vikings to a 44-41 victory over the host Snohomish Panthers in a Western Conference showdown between two teams who came into Tuesday night’s clash unbeaten in North Division play.
Ochiltree’s dramatic shot from right of the circle — set-up after the senior guard picked off a Snohomish pass at the other end of the floor that was first tipped by her teammate Karri Gallagher — came in the face of a furious Panthers defense.
“I kind of got bumped and I was praying for a foul,” Ochiltree said. “Then, I was just praying (the shot) would go in.”
Snohomish had possession of the ball with 19 seconds remaining, 16 ticks on the shot clock and the score tied. But, after Gallagher’s tip Ochiltree came up with the ball in the left corner at the Panthers end of the court with 10 seconds to play and quickly passed to point guard Leah Tate.
Tate drove across mid-court and fired a pass back to Ochiltree who dribbled right before getting off a shot that prevented the teams from going into overtime as they did on the same court against each other last season.
“I was aiming, but I was also praying,” Ochiltree said, laughing. “This is huge for us, against our biggest rivals, in their gym … our whole team handled the pressure and didn’t allow ourselves to get distracted.”
Ochiltree’s answered prayer ensured Lake Stevens (7-0 in division, 11-0 overall) would remain unbeaten and put the Vikings alone atop the division. Snohomish fell a game back (6-1, 8-3).
“Mary came up with a big time steal and big play at the end,” Lake Stevens coach Randall Edens said. “I think she had to gather the ball (on the final shot) and it will be fun to watch the film.”
The continuation of Lake Stevens’ victory streak seemed unlikely after the Vikings fell behind 28-19 by the end of the first half.
The Panthers’ lead at the break was spurred by Emily Guthrie, whose trio of 3-pointers keyed a 14-5 run to close out the second quarter. Guthrie led Snohomish with 13 points.
But, after a promising first half, the Panthers struggled offensively throughout the second half and managed just 13 points.
“We got a little timid (offensively) in the second half,” Snohomish coach Ken Roberts said. “You have to play to win. You can’t play not to lose. We had opportunities to attack and we didn’t.”
The veteran-laden Vikings, who start five seniors, cut the gap to 35-33 by the end of the third period. Gallagher scored six of her nine points in the quarter.
Lake Stevens, which had trailed the entire game except for a brief tie early in the second period, finally pulled ahead 39-37 with just over four minutes remaining on back-to-back buckets by Ochiltree (14 points, six rebounds) and Brittany Tri (seven points, six rebounds). Ochiltree and Tri assisted each other on their respective back-door scores.
Tri was forced out of the contest with 2:42 to play after getting hit in the left eye in a scrum after a loose ball.
“I knew my teammates could get it done,” said Tri, sporting a budding shiner and clutching a bag of ice afterwards.
Snohomish retook the lead when Guthrie made a long jumpshot and Katie Benson (five points, six rebounds) split a pair of free throws.
Ochiltree’s runner in the lane gave Lake Stevens a 41-40 lead with two minutes remaining, but Karley Lampman (seven points, seven rebounds) knotted the score by making one of two foul shots with 1:04 to play.
“We have a lot of respect for Snohomish and for Ken (Roberts, Snohomish coach) and what they have done here,” Edens said. “Ken and I talked before about how good teams just aren’t going to give in and you saw that tonight.”
Snohomish seems sure to bounce back.”
“We try to focus on learning in every game,” Roberts said. “If we play with this kind of intensity every game we’ll keep getting better.”
At Snohomish H.S.
Lake Stevens9101411—44
Snohomish121676—41
Lake Stevens — Ochiltree 14, Tri 7, Warbis, Tate 2, Schumacher 7, Personius 5, Gallagher 9. Snohomish — Guthrie 13, Lampman 7, Burns 2, Desmarais 2, Miller 3, Benson 5, Heard 7, Fairbanks, Scott 2. 3-point goals — Ochiltree 2, Schumacher 1, Guthrie 3, Miller 1. J.V. score — Snohomish 48, Lake Stevens 26. Records — Lake Stevens 7-0 in division, 11-0 overall. Snohomish 6-1, 8-3.
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