For the first game in the inaugural Great Eight girls basketball tournament Monday afternoon, the event’s organizers couldn’t have asked for any more suspense.
Katie Meyers had 26 points as No. 12 Lyons squandered a 13-point third-quarter lead only to hang on for a 67-62 victory over No. 9 Buffalo Grove, thanks to its strong rebounding and some last-minute dramatics.
The Lions (16-3), whose 33-21 domination on the boards helped them to a 51-38 lead with 3 minutes 18 seconds left in the third quarter, slowly watched the Bison (17-3) attempt a come-from-behind victory on their home court. Buffalo Grove used a 9-2 run late in the third and a 7-0 run to start the fourth to cut the lead to three.
The referees also mistakenly sent Blafka to the line for a bonus free throw, even though Buffalo Grove had only six team fouls in the half. Blafka missed the free throw, and the Lions missed three one-and-one attempts in the final 27 seconds, but still hung on.
While Blafka’s one-and-one miss did not contribute to the final score, it did take the momentum out of Buffalo Grove’s hands.
“(The referees) should not have inbounded the ball while the girls were on the floor. They beckoned our player in,” said Bison coach Tom Dineen. “The call should not have been made. There shouldn’t have been a technical and not a one-and-one.. They blew two calls down the stretch. At that point you want the kids to decide the game.”
The Lions led 14-6 in the first quarter before Buffalo Grove roared back early in the second. Alison Guth (12 points) came off the bench to score four points in a 9-4 run as the Bison took a 24-22 lead with 4:52 left in the half.
It would be the last lead the Bison would have as Lyons turned the game around around with an 11-3 run of their own to lead, 37-29 with 50 seconds left in the half. Buffalo Grove trailed 39-34 at the half.
Lyons built its biggest lead early in the second half, going on a 12-2 run, with six points from Alison Clark (12 points, five rebounds) to lead, 51-38 with 3:18 remaining and set the stage for the dramatic finish.
“I honestly didn’t care if we won or lost,” said Lyons coach Dawn Schabacker. “I wanted this team to learn to play together. I was glad we were able to weather the storm and hang in there. We needed to take care of our emotions out there.”
“I guess the magic ran out for us,” said Dineen, whose team has already had three come-from-behind wins this season. “That was definitely the best team we’ve played up to this point. Their aggressiveness and height in the lane took its toll and wore us down.
“We knew this would be a nice tournament. We got into it knowing the competition would be tough. The loss is not the end of the world. We’re a competitive team and we don’t like to lose, but we’ll move on and be fine.”
