The Bushland Lady Falcons were able to survive and advance, picking up a 60-58 thrilling win over Littlefield to claim the UIL Class 3A Division I bi-district championship Tuesday night at Dimmitt High School.
This is the first bi-district title for Bushland in three years under head coach Sarah Allen.
“I’m so proud, because this is the first gold ball for this group of girls,” Allen said. “This game is very mental and it’s nice for this program to get a bi-district win. We have so much respect for that cross district, and this was a huge win for us.”
Bushland (26-9) is now headed to the area round to square off with Lamesa (29-4) at a time and place to be determined. Littlefield ends its season with a 21-13 overall mark.
This contest came down to the final seconds. Bushland led 58-53 in the final minute, only to see the Lady Wildcats claw back. Littlefield’s Anai Jefferson made a shot and was fouled with three seconds to play, putting her at the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game, trailing 59-58. However, Jefferson missed the free-throw and Bushland was able to pull down the rebound and hold on for the victory.
From the start, it looked like Bushland was going to run away with this contest. Bushland came out fast, going up 16-0 and took a 21-10 lead after the first quarter. By halftime, Littlefield started chipping away, cutting the deficit to 31-26.
In the third quarter, Bushland’s Berklee Billington knocked down two big, 3-pointers, pulling the momentum back toward Bushland, as the Lady Falcons led 46-43 after three quarters.
“We came out hot and had a 16-0 lead,” Allen said. “Littlefield just chipped away and never quit. They were gritty and kept coming back. The lead changed a few times but we never quit either. We are a team without seniors but we have a lot of leadership. We’ve been in this situation quite a bit. We scored when we needed it in the second half and were able to get the win.”
Billington finished the night with a game-high 19 points. Sami Grace was clutch with 15 points and Charley Freeman chipped in 12 points.
“Berklee always has a target on her back,” Allen said.d “But, she hit two huge 3-pointers in the third quarter, which were huge and swung the momentum back to us. Berklee is always face guarded and still finished with 19 points. Charley is a great shooter and played great defense and Sami did an amazing job. I’m proud of this team.”
Littlefield’s Madison Williams scored 16 to lead the Lady Wildcats.