The only thing which would have made Friday night’s meeting between the Amarillo High Lady Sandies and Tascosa Lady Rebels any closer would have been actual blood relations.
When these two teams meet any time, though, it’s far less family reunion than Hatfields and McCoys. So it was no surprise when things were over at the Amarillo High Activity Center that the tally between the two teams was again even in District 3-5A.
Tyler Held banked home a jumper from just under 10 feet from the left side of the key to give No. 17 Amarillo High a thrilling 39-38 victory over No. 6 Tascosa and pull to within a half-game of the Lady Rebels for the district lead. The win meant another season split between the two teams, as the Lady Sandies (26-7, 11-3 in 3-5A) still have a chance to grab at least a share of the district championship.
As competitive as the teams have been over the last few seasons, a close game was most definitely expected, and these two teams delivered in perhaps better than advertised fashion. Neither team led by more than five points, and in the second half neither team led by more than three points.
For AHS coach Jeff Williams, a 1987 Amarillo High graduate, it was appropriate that such a thrilling win over a crosstown rival came only minutes before the school celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 1986 boys state championship win.
“I’m telling you, it’s just kind of what we’re accustomed to,” said Williams, after recording one of his most memorable wins over the Lady Rebels (26-3, 11-2). “For years we’ve had tons of one-point ballgames with Tascosa, so to get that done the same night those guys from the 86 state championship team is recognized is special. They’re friends of mine and that’s a cool deal. To see those guys coming up and hugging them and telling them how excited they were for the girls was cool.”
What the ultimate big picture implication of the victory is remains unclear, but Held’s name will go down in recording the history of the rivalry as one which can’t be ignored.
In the final minute, the Lady Sandies took a 37-35 lead as Memori Hibbler twice made one of two free throws, the last coming with 15 seconds left. Tascosa got the ball up court, and took a 38-37 lead on Alex Carter’s 3-pointer from the corner with seven seconds left.
It looked an awful lot like Carter would be the hero after Amarillo High called a time out to set up the last attempt to win the game, especially considering how hard offense had been to come by for both teams. Williams decided to put the ball in the hands of the senior he felt he could trust the most with the game on the line.
“Getting the ball in (Held’s hands and coming off of a screen around the 10-foot line was the plan,” Williams said. “We really wanted to kind of slice, but (Tascosa) did a good job of forcing us over to the other side. We want Tyler to then try to elevate it and shoot. When she elevated and it left her hands, I’ve seen her kiss it off the glass 1,000 times so it was no accident.”
[Here’s the video of Tyler Held’s thrilling buzzer beater, courtesy of sports reporter Corrin Davis of KAMR/KCIT]
Held took the inbound pass under the Amarillo High basket and took it the length of the court, cutting to the left and putting the ball up off the glass. It fell right before time expired for easily the two biggest of her team-high 10 points on the night.
“It’s definitely the biggest shot I’ve ever hit in my life,” Held said. “It was really not by design. (Williams) told Kensleigh (Payne) to set a screen and get a body and I’d either go to Ella (Brown) in the corner or take it myself. It was the only option I had and I found the gap.
“I knew I could get down the floor fast enough to get it to Ella or take the roll and find the shot. I was pretty composed.”
For the Lady Sandies, it avenged the loss to the Lady Rebels at Tascosa during the first half of district play. Tascosa’s 45-35 win in that game was fairly pedestrian compared to Friday’s frantic rematch.
How competitive was the game? Tascosa led by a point at the end of both the first quarter (11-10) and halftime (21-20) and the game was tied at 28 after three quarters.
Carter and Devaeh Johnson both had 10 points to lead Tascosa.