For three quarters against the Moniteau Lady Warriors, Bellwood-Antis mirrored their performance from their first round loss in the Lady Blue Devil Classic. They took an early lead, lost it and began to fall far behind.
However, the final chapter of their consolation game played out much like a fairy tale for the Lady Blue Devils and head coach Nick Lovrich, who celebrated his birthday Wednesday.
Down by four with one second to play, Jamie Smith fired up a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot as the ball bounced off the backboard and through the hoop to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Smith made the free throw, and the Lady Blue Devils won 58-57 in overtime to give Lovrich a birthday present he’ll likely never forget.
Lauren Carter helped Bellwood-Antis to an early advantage with 12 first quarter points.
The Lady Blue Devils led 13-4 after Carter made a layup, but as they did the night before, Bellwood Antis allowed their opponent to get back into the game.
Kristen Baronetski made a layup for the Lady Warriors, and Jenna Beatty made a three-pointer before Carter broke up the run with a layup.
Beatty made a jump shot just inside the three-point line to cap off the scoring in the first quarter and cut the Lady Blue Devils’ lead to 15-11.
The game slowed in the second quarter. Beatty made another deep two-point jump shot, and Alyssa Deal made a layup to tie the game.
Meanwhile, Bellwood-Antis was held scoreless for over six minutes.
A Deal three-pointer gave the Lady Warriors the lead, but seconds later Jenna Ralston broke the Lady Blue Devils’ scoreless streak with a layup, and Carter followed with a jump shot to put Bellwood-Antis back ahead 19-18.
Deal answered with another tree-pointer, and Baronetski added a jump shot before Smith made one of her own to cut the Lady Warriors lead to two at half time.
The third quarter belonged to Moniteau and Natalie DeMatteis. The senior made four three-pointers in the quarter as the Lady Warriors surged to a 41-30 lead.
The fourth quarter was an entirely different story. Carter made two quick layups to cut the lead to seven, and Smith made two free throws. Smith was 5-5 from the line after struggling a day earlier.
Playing with an intensity absent since their victory against Penns Valley, the Lady Blue Devils charged back despite a jump shot and three-pointer by Deal to stretch the lead to 46-38.
Stephanie Hatch made a three-pointer, and after Deal struck back with a jump shot, Carter made a basket. Allison Sinisi made one of two free throws to make the score 48-44 with 1:39 left to play.
After Moniteau held the ball for over 40 seconds on offense, Bellwood-Antis got the ball back and Hatch was fouled. She missed the free throw, but Carter snagged the rebound and made a jump shot to cut the lead to two.
Baronetski made two free throws for the Lady Warriors to seemingly put the game out of reach with only seconds remaining, but Smith’s miracle four-point play at the buzzer sent the game into overtime.
“I haven’t seen that too many times, but Jamie took that shot with a lot of poise and made the big free throw. You expect your point guard to make those big free throws late in the game and that’s what she did,” Lovrich said.
Carter gave Bellwood-Antis a lead in overtime with a layup, and Sinisi made it 54-50 with a jump shot.
Deal, who scored a team-high 24 points, hit a jump shot to keep Moniteau close, before Hatch made a jump shot, and Smith added two more free throws to give the Lady Blue Devils a six-point lead with under a minute to go.
But Deal, who committed the costly foul for the Lady Warriors that put the game into overtime, wasn’t finished yet. The junior nailed a three-pointer and then stole a pass with 20 seconds to go and was fouled while missing another three-pointer.
Deal made the first two, but missed the third. She got her own rebound, but was rejected by Carter.
With 11 seconds to play Moniteau’s press caused a turnover but DeMatteis missed a layup as time expired.
“This feels real good. We shot around before the game, and in the second half we finished shots. This was a great team effort,” Lovrich said.
The Lady Blue Devils do not play again until Monday when they will travel to Glendale. The junior varsity game will begin at 6 p.m.
Moniteau 57 Bellwood-Antis 58 (OT)
Moniteau – DeMatteis 6 0-2 16, Baronetski 2 2-2 6, Beatty 4 0-0 9, Deal 9 2-3 24, Gladd 1 0-2 2, Burk 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 4-9 57.
Bellwood-Antis – Carter 12 0-0 24, Sinisi 2 2-4 6, Ralston 2 0-0 4, Smith 3 5-5 13, Hatch 5 0-1 11, Claar 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24 7-10 58.
Score by Quarters
Moniteau 11 12 18 9 7 – 57
Bellwood-Antis 15 6 9 20 8 – 58
Three-point goals: Moniteau 9 (Deal 4, DeMatteis 4, Beatty 1).
Bellwood-Antis 3 (Smith 2, Hatch 1).
