Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a Region 2-AAA semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. Pictured above are Oak Ridge juniors Jaymi Golden (32) and Destiny Kassner (30). (Photo by Luther Simmons)

Two steals, a layup, and a free throw in the final minute helped Oak Ridge beat William Blount by one point, 48-47, in a regional semifinal game that came down to the final few seconds on Monday.

The Lady Governors led by two points late in the Region 2-AAA semifinal elimination game, Oak Ridge Coach Paige Redman said. But a steal by Lady Wildcats senior Courtney Ellison led to a tying layup by junior Mykia Dowdell.

Then, another Oak Ridge steal led to a William Blount foul and two free throws by Lady Wildcats sophomore Jada Guinn. She missed the first one but hit the second, Redman said. That gave the Lady Wildcats (28-3) a one-point lead with about half a minute remaining.

With just over two seconds to go, Oak Ridge got the basketball. But the Lady Wildcats turned it over with about 1.3 seconds remaining. When the Lady Governors threw it in, Dowdell knocked it out of bounds. The clock ticked down to 0.3 seconds. That wasn’t enough time for William Blount (21-11) to get the ball in bounds and possibly make a game-winning basket. After being nervous—the Lady Governors led 47-45 with 2:14 remaining—Oak Ridge fans were jubilant.

“Wow!” said Stephanie Thompson, Oak Ridge High School assistant principal. “What a win for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats!” [Read more…]