5A girls: Carroll wins third-place game in OT (+video)
On the cusp of her season ending with a second straight devastating loss, Brynn Maul refused to let that scenario play out.
Maul drove the length of the court and scored to force overtime, then scored the game-winning layup in the extra period to lift Bishop Carroll to a 45-44 victory over Salina Central in the third-place game of the Class 5A tournament on Saturday at the Kansas Expocentre.
“I’m not losing this game,” Maul said she told herself during her 94-foot sprint to the basket. “I felt this adrenaline rush and I knew I was going up for that layup no matter what. I just kept thinking that I couldn’t end like that again.”
After owning a lead the first three quarters, Carroll fell behind 35-29 with 1:51 to play when Salina Central began hitting three-pointers.
That’s when Carroll rattled off an 8-1 run, capped by a pair of Josie Allen (12 rebounds, six steals) free throws to take a 37-36 lead with 19 seconds left. But Central responded with a Myah Ward three-pointer to take the lead back.
Maul took the in-bounds pass and fended off a defender the entire way to the basket for the game-tying score.
“Brynn is the example of a leader,” teammate Abby Sauber said. “She’s going to give all that she has, even if we’re down by 20 points. She’s a go-to girl and that’s what you need.”
Maul (16 points) again came up clutch in overtime, scoring on another drive to push Carroll ahead 45-44 with 11 seconds left and a running clock. Central quickly inbounded and passed ahead to Bayleigh Petty, who snuck behind the defense.
The potential game-winning lay-up was erased by Sauber, who recovered quickly and swatted the ball out of bounds with 1.1 seconds left. A last-second shot by Central was no good.
“She was so excited when she came over to me after that,” Carroll coach Taylor Dugan said. “She was like, ‘Coach, that was all ball.’ ”
Sauber and Mary Kate Cundiff are the first senior class to go through four years with Dugan. Carroll finished the season with 20 wins and its first trophy at the state tournament since 2010.
“This is a very special team and these two seniors are very special,” Dugan said. “We’ve gone through the last four years together, so it’s been a little emotional for me at times. I’m not sure anyone thought we could do this, but these girls are so disciplined and they work hard and they want it.”
St. Thomas Aquinas 39, Leavenworth 38 – A free throw by Allie Koster with 37 seconds left proved to be the difference, as Aquinas held off a furious Leavenworth comeback after leading by 16 at halftime. Leavenworth was the two-time defending champion.
This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "5A girls: Carroll wins third-place game in OT (+video)."