Feb. 15, the Lady Bruins came out on top over Cardinal Ritter College Prep by two points after RBHS sophomore forward/center Jayda Porter’s buzzer-beater.
RBHS varsity girls went into Thursday’s game with a four-game winning streak and junior guard Mari Miller reaching 1,000 career points Feb. 8. Miller said that while it is a great accomplishment, “there are far more important things to think about,” such as Thursday night.
“We were confident going into the game, but we also knew we needed to focus and work hard to execute the game plan,” Miller said. “We have beaten [the Lions] before, but they are an athletic and well-coached team.”
Porter scored the first two points of the game after winning the tip off, quickly followed by two from the Lions. After a nothing-but-net three pointer from junior guard/forward Malia Chievous and buzzer-beater block from Porter, the Bruins pulled ahead 23-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Justin Carter, RBHS freshmen girls’ head coach and varsity girls’ assistant coach, said the team really had to focus on breaking press early on, as they knew the Lions would really pressure them. While he thinks they did well with this in the first quarter, Carter also said there were many turnovers and “silly mistakes.” But, he said the girls got the Lions out of their press, forcing “them into a different look.”
Having beat the Lions earlier in the season, Porter said she knew it was going to be a tough game because “they were probably wanting [the win] really bad.” In addition, junior forward Eva Corrado said the energy felt low at first, but that it really picked up throughout the game — Porter agreed.
“We kind of had to make our own energy since there wasn’t really much of a crowd, but I think we did a good job of it,” Porter said. “We stuck together during the lows and highs of the game, [though] we could’ve done a better job on the defensive end.”
The second quarter began with a jump ball in RBHS’ possession, followed by a three-pointer from sophomore guard/forward Cora Smith. By the end of the first half, the Bruins’ winning gap narrowed to 30-27.
With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Lions pulled ahead of RBHS, 33-30. Yet, Carter said with strong energy and great strategy, the girls kept pushing, showing the “mental toughness” of the team.
“They did a great job playing all the way till the end of the game [and] staying locked in all 32 minutes,” Carter said. “Even though we were losing, the girls never seemed like they were out of it — [I] kept hearing positive talk coming from the bench. We dug deep [and] got back in the game.”
The Bruins went into the fourth quarter down five points. Chievous began the quarter well, however, with two successful free throws, and halfway through, Porter held 16 of the team’s points. At just under three minutes left, RBHS took back the lead 47-46, and Carter said he was proud of the Bruins for pulling through.
“When some teams get down seven in the third quarter like we were, they’re going [to] fold,” Carter said. “They’re going [to] call it quits. They’re going [to] throw in the towel. But we dug our way back — seven became five, five became three. We got the lead back, and winning as much as we do is hard.”
Spectators saw much back-and-forth from both teams during the remainder of the fourth quarter. The Bruins tried to run the clock out with less than a minute left, but the Lions fouled and RBHS missed their free throws. With only five seconds remaining, the Lady Bruins fouled the Lions, giving them the chance to tie the game and go into overtime, or to win entirely. After one free throw was made, RBHS called a timeout, the anticipation growing.
With all eyes on the Lions, they missed their second free throw, allowing Smith to get the rebound and pass the ball to Miller, who got the ball to Porter all the way from the volleyball line to the free throw line. At the last second, Porter sunk a two-pointer, resulting in an outburst of cheers. She said she was very happy, as it was a fun opportunity that not everyone gets to experience.
After Thursday’s game, the Lady Bruins are 20-4 with an average of 60 points per game. There are only two games left in the regular season, and their final game will be Feb. 22 against the Helias Crusaders for Senior Night at home. About a week later, the team will head to districts at Blue Springs South High School.
“We finished second in the state last year and are working hard to make a run in the postseason again,” Miller said. “We have a team full of special players and look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”
Did you catch Thursday night’s winning buzzer-beater? Let us know in the comments below.
