MEXICO, Mo. - What a nailbiter.
The New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats led the Westran Lady Hornets 51-48 in Wednesday night's Class 2 sectional game at Mexico High School with 47 seconds remaining.
New Bloomfield was unable to inbound the ball within 5 seconds and turned it over. Westran committed an offensive foul on its next possession, but New Bloomfield had trouble inbounding the ball again against the Lady Hornets' full-court pressure as junior guard Madi Craighead caught a pass out of bounds.
Westran tried to set up a 3-pointer to tie the game, but Craighead picked off a pass and threw the ball upcourt to senior forward Madison Love. Love whipped the ball past halfcourt to senior guard Baylee Garrett and she was immediately fouled with :25.9 left.
Garrett made the back end of the double-bonus to stretch the Lady Wildcats' lead to 52-48. Westran missed two shots on the next possesion, Craighead grabbed a rebound, took a few dribbles and was fouled with :09.2 to play.
Craighead connected on the two free throws to extend New Bloomfield's lead to 54-48. Westran freshman guard Taegan Bartolacci then sank a 3-pointer with :02.1 remaining and the Lady Hornets immediately called a timeout.
On their ensuing possession, the Lady Wildcats were able to get the ball to Craighead and she dribbled out the clock to seal New Bloomfield's 54-51 victory.
The Lady Wildcats (23-6) will now play Scotland County (26-1) - ranked fifth in the state - in the Class 2 quarterfinals at 1:45 p.m. Saturday at Moberly Area Community College. The Lady Tigers advanced by edging New Haven 37-35 in sectional play Wednesday night in Hannibal.
New Bloomfield - avenging a 61-60 overtime loss to Westran on Dec. 29 in Moberly - led 18-12 after the first quarter Wednesday night and owned a narrow 29-27 edge at halftime. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Hornets 13-7 in the third quarter to increased their advantage to 42-34.
Craighead paced New Bloomfield - which shot 51 percent (19-of-37) from the field - with a game-high 20 points. Sophomore center Samantha Haas provided 16 points.
Senior forward Cory Burton directed Westran (21-8) - which shot just 34 percent (17-of-50) as a team - with 17 points. Junior guard Madelyne Denslow tallied 13 points and Bartolacci added 12.