Canadian’s Briley Merket pulls the trigger on a 3-pointer during a District 1-3A clash against Bushland at the Canadian gym on Friday night. [Alan Hale/ For Press Pass Sports]
CANADIAN— For almost 32 full minutes at home Friday night, the No. 1 team in the state in Class 3A didn’t hold the lead for one second in a key District 1-3A game.
That meant nothing in the very end though, as the Canadian Lady Wildcats showed that you stay on top by playing to the very end.
Briley Merket’s 3-pointer with under 30 seconds left gave Canadian its first lead of the game against Bushland, and the Lady Wildcats held off the Lady Falcons over their final two tense possessions. Samantha Krehbiel made two free throws with a second remaining to seal Canadian’s 45-42 win, keeping the Lady Wildcats atop the district and perhaps the state as the week ended.
It was the kind of game to be expected between two teams who entered the evening both unbeaten in district play. The rematch during the second half of district at Bushland should be just as interesting.
“I thought Bushland played exceptionally well and we knew they were going to come in here and give us all we wanted,” Canadian coach Aaron Marks said. “They just punched us in the mouth early. I don’t think we played anywhere near to the best of our abilities, but obviously give (the Lady Falcons) a lot of credit. Great teams just find a way. I don’t know how, but we found a way.”
Bushland didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by going to the opposing floor of the No. 1 team in the state. The Lady Falcons led the entire first half and got the lead into double digits on more than one occasion in taking a 25-18 halftime lead.
In the second quarter, Bushland got the lead to as high as 11 points. Emma Troxell carried the Lady Falcons with eight of her 10 first half points in the quarter and she finished with a game-high 19 points.
Canadian (24-1, 3-0 in district) rallied to cut the lead to 22-18 thanks to some offensive putbacks on the weakside, but Troxell’s 3-pointer gave the Lady Falcons (16-6, 2-1) their leading halftime margin.
The game stayed tight in the second half. Canadian came back to tie it 28-28 and twice had a chance to take the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter, but couldn’t convert. Bushland clung to a 34-30 lead at the end of the quarter, setting up a tense fourth quarter.
“You can’t make runs when you don’t take care of the ball and you miss free throws, and we did a lot of that tonight,” Marks said. “We got some stops late. We’ve got a tough group.”
Bushland led 40-34 heading into the final two minutes but Canadian chipped away. Trailing 42-40, the Lady Wildcats had possession and brought the ball up before calling timeout with 41 seconds left to set up a play.
The ball went to Merket on the left wing, and she sank a corner three to give the Lady Wildcats their first lead when it counted most.
“(Marks) has put a lot of confidence in me over the past two years, so I knew I was going to step up and knock it down,” said Merket, who led Canadian with 13 points. “It was right online and I put enough arch on it and it was awesome. (The Lady Falcons) came out hot tonight and shot the lights out, so kudos to them, but we have a lot of character on our team.”
It still wasn’t over. Bushland naturally set up Troxell for a potential go-ahead shot inside the key, but it missed and Merket rebounded it. Merket was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 17 seconds left to give Bushland some life.
On the ensuing possession, Troxell launched a three which didn’t draw iron and went out of bounds. Krehbiel was fouled on the inbounds pass and sank both free throws for a three-point lead, and Bushland’s last-second desperation 3-pointer was well off the mark.
“I honestly thought we should be about 10 points ahead going into the fourth quarter if we don’t get in foul trouble and we can get off holds,” Bushland coach Ty Mayfield said. “The girls just played their tails off. It was a great game both ways. You don’t get points for leading most of the night. We feel like we’ll be ready for the rematch.”
Tana Davis and Mattie Boyd both had 10 points for Canadian. Ellie Frye had 10 points for Bushland, and was the only player besides Troxell to score a field goal in the second half for the Lady Falcons.
Bushland 14 25 34 42
Canadian 8 18 30 45
B— Emma Troxell 19, Ellie Frye 10. C— Briley Merket 13, Tana Davis 10, Mattie Boyd 10. Records: Bushland 16-6, 2-1. Canadian 24-1, 3-0.
