WHITWELL, Tenn. — Whitwell girls’ basketball coach Eric Zensen drew up a play he thought could win Tuesday night’s game against Lookout Valley, but his players had just 2.2 seconds to execute it.
That was exactly enough time for the Lady Tigers to find an open Macy Kilgore in the right corner, and her 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Whitwell a 57-54 victory that cements its second-place spot in District 6-A.
“He set up a screen for me to come through on the back side and get a shot,” Kilgore said. “It was open, and I got it off. I don’t remember thinking anything. It was just an awesome feeling.”
Lookout Valley opened the game with a 14-0 run, but by halftime Whitwell had cut its deficit to 34-27. A Halle Ware basket with 4:57 left in the fourth put the Lady Tigers up 51-48, and her 3-pointer with 48.3 seconds to play tied it at 54 after the Lady Yellow Jackets had scored six points in a row.
Ware, who led Whitwell (14-8, 8-1) with 19 points, six rebounds and four steals, had a potential game-winner fall short in the final seconds, but the ball was called out on Lookout Valley, leaving the Lady Tigers time for a timeout to set up Kilgore’s 3-pointer.
“The girls executed,” Zensen said. “It was a huge shot. She missed the first seven or eight games with a broken finger, but she’s been doing a great job. We wanted to put the ball in her hands, and she came through.”
Or login with:
New Account