What a difference a year makes.
The Canadian Lady Cats were able to get a huge measure of revenge, and did it just how it happened to them a year ago.
Left stunned and heartbroken last February, after watching their season end at the buzzer at the hands of Slaton in this same UIL Class 3A Division II bi-district round, Canadian was able to get that redemption on the Tigerettes with a buzzer beater of their own to leave Slaton shocked while claiming the bi-district title on Monday night at the Joe Lombard Gymnasium in Canyon. .
“This was a second straight classic with Slaton,” Canadian head coach Aaron Marks said. “We haven’t forgotten about this game and we’ve played it back all year. I’m so proud of this team, and how they stepped up to make sure we weren’t leaving this gym without a gold ball. What a game between two amazing teams that fought their hearts out.”
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Four quarters didn’t settle this amazing clash, as the end of regulation had enough dramatics for one contest.
Slaton freshman Lucy Dominguez knocked down a 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds to play, putting the Tigerettes up 41-38. Following a timeout, Canadian worked the final play to perfection, leaving Kimora Morales open in the corner, as the point guard buried a dramatic 3-pointer of her own as time expired, sending this contest to overtime tied at 41.
In overtime, Slaton had taken a 44-42 lead with 30 seconds to go. The Tigerettes also had the ball, however, the Lady Cats defense stepped up, coming away with a steal. Instead of calling a timeout, Lady Cat head coach Aaron Marks used that final 20 seconds and relied on his seniors to get the job done.
Those seniors delivered.
Canadian made pass after pass in the final seconds, finally finding a wide open, Kylie Cavalier. The team leader didn’t hesitate, throwing up the 3-pointer from 25-feet on the left wing, and draining it as the clock ran out to give Canadian the exciting victory, 45-44.
“Kylie struggled most of the night, but big players make plays when it counts, and that’s what she did at the end,” Marks said. “I love not calling timeout and seeing what develops. I was close to calling a timeout, but you have to trust your seniors and that’s what we had on the floor. It was a hot potato situation on that final possession till we found Kylie, and she buried that huge shot. So, not calling a timeout came out just fine.”
Cavalier echoed her coaches comments.
“We have been playing that buzzer beater by Slaton over and over in our heads since last year when they beat us,” Cavalier said. “We’ve been working on buzzer beating situations all year in practice. We did everything we could as seniors to make sure we weren’t losing in the first round and we wanted this gold ball.”
Canadian, the District 1-3A champions, improve to 25-9 on the season and will now take on Coahoma (32-1) at a time and place to be determined in the area round. Slaton ends a very strong year at 22-10.
The first half of this game saw an intimidating 2-3 zone from the Tigerettes give Canadian fits. With Slaton’s size inside, the Lady Cats were having trouble getting to the paint. On the other end, Slaton’s 5-foot-11 post Brocoiya Harris was making life rough, pulling down rebounds and being a complete mismatch.
With that said, Slaton had control up 20-14 at the break, but in the third quarter the Lady Cats made an adjustment. Cavalier was held scoreless in the first half but started to find her shot, and the rest of the team followed. Canadian was able to outscore 14-5 in the third to take a 28-25 lead and turn the tides.
“We didn’t do a great job in the first half,” Marks said. “I thought we were timid, so at halftime I told them we need to play like us. We outscored them in the third and there were big shots after big shots. That’s what basketball is all about.”
In the fourth, Morales caught fire, scoring eight of her team-high 16 including her game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation. On top of her heroics, Cavalier poured in all 11 of her points in the second half.
“We’ve been a second half team all year. I feel like our work ethic and style of play has to pay off over 32 minutes. In this one, it was 36 minutes. Hats off to our players.”
Harris finished with 13 points to lead Slaton. Kashlyn Conkin followed with 10 points.
