It took all of 36 minutes, but Winder-Barrow (4-15, 2-5) was able to pick up a key win over Heritage (11-7, 3-4) 61-55 Tuesday night.
Some late-game heroics by senior guard Trinity Maxey put Winder-Barrow in position to win. With only two seconds left in the game, Maxey hit a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime.
“I just told (my teammate) to throw it up (on the inbounds), and I’ll go up and get it,” Maxey said of her thoughts headed into the last seconds of the game.
Maxey finished with a game-high 28 points in the upset bid over Heritage.
Overall, though, free throw shooting was a primary reason the Lady Bulldoggs were able to pick up the win. Fouls don’t reset at the onset of overtime, so head coach Kimberly Garren played the foul game with her girls to take the lead and the win.
Between the final minute of the fourth quarter and all of overtime, Winder-Barrow shot 13/16 from the charity stripe to secure the win.
Maxey went 10/12 from the free throw line individually during that stretch. She attributes her composure at the line during close-game situations to the team’s post-practice free throw drills.
Senior center Alisha Behr was also integral to the Lady Bulldoggs in their quest for their fourth win of the year. She scored 16 points and provided a spark for Winder-Barrow when offense was hard to come by.
“She knew tonight was a huge night for her,” Garren said. “She went from needing to play two minutes here, two minutes there to now needing to stay on the court.”
“Her teammates help with that. They like her, they've pushed her and I think she just clicked and she was like, ‘my team needs me and I'm gonna do it.’ I'm extremely proud of her. We expect that out of her on Friday.”
It was a tale of two halves in regards to Winder-Barrow's ability to take care of the basketball. The Lady Bulldoggs turned the ball over 18 times in the first half as opposed to just five times after the break.
“I just told them to take care of the ball,” Garren said of her message to the team at halftime. “Two things have killed us all year and that's giving up offensive rebounds and turning the ball over.”
The win places the Lady Bulldoggs in prime position to advance to fourth in the 8-5A standings with just three weeks left in the season before the region tournament commences subsequently.
Winder-Barrow hosts Clarke Central Friday, Jan. 20 then travels to Jefferson Tuesday, Jan. 24.
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