SALTVILLE, Va. – A thousand thoughts were racing through Chilhowie High School senior guard Nicole Mooney’s mind as she stepped to the foul line late in Friday night’s Region C, Division 2 semifinals.
Among them was what Chilhowie head coach Mark Halsey had told his team.
“Coach always told us, ‘Don’t pray your shots in,’ ” Mooney said. “But I was definitely praying those last few minutes on those free throws.”
Mooney hit two free throws and had a key rebound in the final 21.1 seconds as Chilhowie held on for a wild 47-42 win over Radford in the regional girls basketball semifinals at Northwood High School.
Chilhowie (19-7) clinched its second state tournament berth in three years with the win and will play Glenvar (18-7) on Monday night in Saltville for the Region C, Division 2 title.
Chilhowie controlled the tempo for most of the first three quarters en route to building a double-digit lead.
“We worked on some things this week and we had some time with the weather and stuff,” Halsey said. “They just came out and stepped up and played a great game. They did what they had to do to win.”
Behind the outstanding play of do-everything senior Krystal Patton (19 points) and sophomore Lauren Jones (12 points) the Warriors had what appeared to be a comfortable 42-26 lead with 3:22 remaining.
However, that’s when things got interesting.
Patton fouled out with 2:44 left on a charge call, shifting the momentum to Radford’s side.
Elizabeth Harris also fouled out for the Warriors, while three players were playing with four fouls in the closing moments.
“Everybody knows Krystal is our go-to player,” Mooney said. “But tonight I think it showed that everyone on our team’s a go-to player. We all did this as a team.”
Nobody came up bigger than Mooney.
With Chilhowie struggling to handle the ball after Patton was banished to the bench with her fifth foul, Radford (19-3) implemented a pressing attack and whittled the Warriors’ lead to
three points with less than a minute left when Mooney was fouled.
After missing her first shot badly, Mooney banked in the second to extend the lead to four points. She snagged a rebound on Radford’s next possession and hit 1-of-2 free throws again to clinch it.
It was the highlight of the season for Mooney, a consummate role player.
“I told the girls, ‘You never know when your number’s going to be called and you have to step up,’ ” Halsey said. “They stepped up tonight.”
Mooney and her teammates celebrated long after Friday’s victory. It was a big win for a team that battled injuries and inconsistency earlier in the season.
“We’ve really pulled together these last few months,” Mooney said.
Glenvar 46, Floyd County 40
In Friday’s first semifinal, fifth-seeded Glenvar received 15 points from guard Jessi Strom to shock top-seeded Floyd County. It was the final game in the coaching career of Floyd County’s Alan Cantrell, a Buchanan County native.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement