Wakefield girls basketball
Wakefield's Nicole Weaver (24) battles for position for a rebound Tuesday against Millbrook. She later hit a three-pointer lifting the Lady Wolverines to a 43-39 victory.
Christian, Wakefield hand Cats OT loss
Having just watched her Wakefield girls basketball team cough up an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead at Millbrook Tuesday— and now headed for overtime — head coach Danielle Blackburn put the game squarely on the Lady Wolverines' upperclassmen, recalled senior Nicole Weaver.
"During that timeout before overtime, Coach Blackburn told us she was putting in all our seniors and it was our job to finish the game," the forward explained. "And I think we got in the mindset that we weren't going to lose."
Brittany Christian, the Wakefield's one consistent threat all night, did her part, nailing an early three-pointer, giving the Lady Wolverines' an early 39-36 advantage, but Millbrook's Courtney Spearman answered back two minutes later with her own trey.
With less than 40 seconds remaining — and the teams tied at 39 — Christian attack the paint, passed to teammate Kayla Fisher, who slung the ball to Weaver at the top of the key.
Later the senior would recall Blackburn told her "to be a shooter, to be an option."
Without hesitation, Weaver lined up the shot and pulled the trigger, nailing what would stand as the game-winner.
Click here for highlights of the Wakefield/Millbrook girls basketball game.
Millbrook's late-minute attempts to tie the game missed their mark, and Wakefield's Lauren Hudson put the game out of reach with a free-throw with 13 seconds left, giving Wakefield a 43-39 victory.
"I hadn't gotten many shots throughout the game, and I looked at the clock, and I figured something had to happen," Weaver explained later.
While Weaver came up with the Lady Wolverines' biggest shot, Christian powered the Wakefield offense all night, dropping in a game-high 26 points, including six three-pointers — seemingly each one more clutch than the next.
"Brittany is definitely the game-changer," Weaver said. "If we're down just a couple points, or even if we're up just a few points, she'll hit a three. Her emotion, her love of the game, it carries on to the rest of us. When she gets pumped, we get pumped. That's what she does for us."
But early on, it was Millbrook generating all the noise, racing out to a 16-10 advantage as Samiyah Williams, Alex Tomlinson and Taylor Houston all dropped in buckets in one 45-second span midway through the second quarter.
The run forced Blackburn to call a timeout, and Christian promptly delivered.
The senior sharpshooter nailed back-to-back treys, and the Lady Wolverines added three free-throws, closing out the half on a 9-0 run and possessing a 19-10 advantage.
Wakefield continued to hit from the outside in the second half as Christian delivered two three-pointers, but it was Spearman and the Wildcats who gained momentum.
After Christian's second trey, and the clock under 10 seconds in the quarter, Spearman raced upcourt and heaved a shot from just past midcourt. And it hit, pulling Millbrook within three points, trailing 27-24 after three.
But the Wildcats couldn't maintain the pace, failing to score again for more than six minutes, during which time Wakefield pulled ahead 34-24.
Millbrook senior Courtney Spearman (11) looks get off a shot against Wakefield Tuesday.
However, Millbrook didn't give in, staging a remarkable 12-2 run in the final 1:24 to overtime. During the surge, Spearman and Wylonda both hit threes, Tomlinson nailed a jumper and lay-up, and Adrienne Boone converted a steal to a lay-in to tie the game.
Even worse for the Lady Wolverines, senior Kayla Harris fouled out on an offensive charge in the final seconds of regulation.
With seemingly everything going against it, Wakefield found a way to prevail.
"We were going through a lot toward the end of the game," Weaver said. "Kayla was going through foul trouble and some of our shots weren't hitting. Everything wasn't coming together. But we just attacked, and played as hard as we could.
"We knew that this game was a statement game, and we came out here ready to make a statement."
Weaver, Harris and Hudson finished with six points a piece. Tomlinson led the Wildcats with 17 points and Spearman added 16.
The Lady Wolverines (8-2) travel to Leesville Road Thursday, Dec. 17, while Millbrook (6-3) heads to Sanderson Friday, Dec. 18. Both contests begin at 5:30 p.m.
