Heights girls grab OT win over Kapaun

In a girls basketball game that featured 14 ties, it wasn’t too surprising that one would occur after 32 minutes.

Regulation wasn’t enough to solve the second matchup of the year between Kapaun Mount Carmel and Heights, but late heroics by the Falcons led to a 58-54 victory Tuesday night at Heights.

“That’s a very good win for us,” Heights coach Ken Palmer said. “We were looking forward to this one. They were able to beat us in a good one at their place earlier, but we knew if we played our style of game, this one could work out for us.”

The Crusaders went up by four midway through the extra session on a Brenna Monty three-pointer, but a big layup from Trinity Conley gave the Falcons a 55-54 lead, and they held on for the win, forcing turnovers out of Kapaun late.

The only time that a team seemed to pull away in the back-and-forth contest, the feeling didn’t last long. Heights shot up by six after Conley buried a three-pointer with 2:38 left in the third quarter, but Kapaun pulled it close with buckets on its next two possessions.

The fourth quarter started with a seven-point run out of the Crusaders, but baskets from Heights’ Tania Lowe twice tied it up, including at 47-47 with 1:51 to play, but neither side scored the rest of regulation, even though both got two possessions with the chance to go ahead.

“We had an opportunity (late in regulation) to take the lead, but we gave it away and gave Kapaun a chance with the last shot,” Palmer said. “In overtime, we just tried to take care of the ball. High school players, they can panic with pressure, so we just had to keep calm and not rush with it.”

With the two teams hooking up for a defensive battle in the first meeting of the season, they decided to nearly eclipse that scoring output by halftime on Tuesday. A tight 16-13 lead for Kapaun two minutes into the second quarter, the score was doubled in the last six minutes before the break.

Heights’ Lowe sank a three-pointer to draw the hosts even at 18-18, while KMC’s Anna Roulston and the Falcons’ Imari Grayson traded baskets the next two trips down the floor.

There were two more ties, at 22-all and 26-all, but Kapaun didn’t trail until Lowe stuck back her own miss to break the final tie and make it 28-26 with less than two to play. Free throws from both sides gave Heights the same lead at the half.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Heights girls grab OT win over Kapaun."