4A-I girls: Wellington’s Lauryn Snipes hits buzzer-beating three-pointer in Class 4A-I third-place victory (+video)
Wellington junior Lauryn Snipes didn’t race up the court when she got the pass with about five seconds remaining in the Class 4A-I third-place game on Saturday. Snipes didn’t panic, even though the score was tied with Labette County.
She simply dribbled up the right side of the court and, with about one second remaining, pulled up for a deep three-pointer. She swished it through.
“I just watched it go up and then it went in,” Wellington senior Grace Mitchell said. “I was just in shock, disbelief. Did that really go in? Are we really winning? Is that true?”
Wellington beat Labette County 65-62 at Salina’s Bicentennial Center to take third and finish 24-1.
“Either way, if I don’t make it, we go to overtime,” Snipes said. “Either way, it was a win-win for me.… Just pull up a shot, and it went in.”
The Wellington response was immediate as the players rushed the court for a dogpile in the middle of the floor.
“I’ve never been a part of that,” Wellington coach Eric Adams said. “In all my years of coaching, I’ve never been a part of a last-second shot like that. I’m sure my vertical went up a little higher than I thought.”
Wellington, which lost its first game of the season in the 4A-I semifinals on Friday, struggled against Labette County (21-4) because of an inability to get back on defense. The Crusaders gave up easy layups and failed to corral sophomore guard Tristan Gegg, who scored 30 points and now has 1,015 career points.
Labette County took a 55-47 lead over Wellington with 6:49 remaining when Gegg converted a three-point play. But while Labette County went nearly six minute without scoring, Wellington went on a 15-0 run with back-to-back threes by Snipes and Mitchell. The run was capped by Tayland French’s basket with 1:26 to go.
Mitchell finished with 24 points, while Snipes had 16 points and eight rebounds.
With 17 seconds remaining, Wellington missed two free throws, giving Labette County the ball and the chance to win. But Shayland French got the steal on a pass just outside the lane. She passed up the court to Snipes, who nailed the three.
“A testament to the kids, the fourth quarter especially… they found a way,” Adams said. “Not quite how we designed it, but we’ll take the win and the third-place trophy.”
Miege 67, Paola 56 – Miege won its third straight Class 4A-I title and its 60th straight game, beating Paola for the second straight season. Miege was led by Lakesha Lamaster-Stephens’ 20 points, while Tristen McFeders added 18 and Shelbe Piggie had 15.
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:11 PM with the headline "4A-I girls: Wellington’s Lauryn Snipes hits buzzer-beating three-pointer in Class 4A-I third-place victory (+video)."