GOOD HOPE – Good Hope forward Leyton Seal converted a missed 3-pointer by Savanna Derrick into a game winner for the Lady Raiders, pulling out a thrilling 40-38 victory over Winfield in the Northwest Sub-Regional playoff game Monday night.
Winfield tied the game at 38-38 with 35 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Victoria Fetter.
Good Hope patiently worked the ball into frontcourt and set up for a game-winning play.
Derrick, the freshman floor leader, shot a three from the right wing with seven seconds to go.
Seal, a junior forward, along with junior center Kate Kent, got on the left side near the basket for a possible rebound if Derrick missed.
Seal got inside position on a Winfield defender, got the rebound and had a fine pick from Kent to free her toward the basket.
Seal banked the shot off the glass with 1.7 seconds left. Winfield did not call a timeout and was unable to get the ball downcourt to try and tie the game.
March Madness ensued on the floor at Good Hope Gymnasium with a postgame celebration, featuring players, coaches, cheerleaders and the Good Hope student body.
Seal described the game winner as being in the right place at the right time. "The ball came off the rim to me and Kate (Kent) set a pick for me. I was thinking of shooting it off the glass, which I did. I have never done something like this before. It feels great."
The finish by the Lady Raiders capped off an evening in which Good Hope jumped on the runner-up from 4A, Area 11 early. By the end of the first period, Good Hope was ahead 14-4 as Kent closed out the quarter scoring on a putback as the buzzer sounded.
Not a lot of offense came from the Lady Raiders in the second. But back-to-back baskets by Alex Stansell proved invaluable, with the Lady Raiders getting into foul trouble.
Sadie Abbott had two fouls before the first ended, with Ericka Woodall and Seal getting their second before the half closed out.
The Good Hope defense kept Winfield from scoring from the field for the final 5:00 of the second quarter and carried a 20-13 lead into the locker room for halftime.
Woodall ripped a three to start the third, giving Good Hope a 23-13 advantage. But Winfield answered on a 10-2 run and closed the margin to 25-23 with 3:55 to play in the stanza.
It was time for a Good Hope run and the offense responded with an 11-2 margin and led 36-25, entering the fourth. Kent hit four from the line in the run while Seal scored on a right wing three, Woodall scored on a steal and layup and Amber Sterling hit a baseline jumper from the left side.
But the fourth quarter was a game of survival for the Lady Raiders. A free throw from Derrick made it 37-29 Good Hope with 4:12 to play.
The Lady Raiders failed to score from the perimeter for more than 4:00, along with missing a couple of free throws.
Winfield rallied with three field goals in crunch time, one from long range by Andrea Harbin and the game-tying free throws from Fetter with 35 seconds to play.
Winfield's offense never touched the ball the rest of the way, with Good Hope showing poise, despite being under a lot of pressure attacking the Lady Pirate defense.
Seal worked her way to the opposite side of the ball, and the rest is now history for Good Hope, with 13 wins and a berth to the Northwest Regional.
Seal had a superb outing with 17 points, while Kent scored 10, Stansell and Abbott added four each, Woodall and Sterling two each and one by Derrick.
Winfield ends the season at 20-10. Leading the Lady Pirates was Harbin with 15 and C'era Beck with 10.
Good Hope plays Saturday at 9 a.m. vs. the winner of the West Limestone-Wilson game in the Northwest Regional at Wallace State.
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