GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Lane nails game-winning shot

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Published in Sports on January 12, 2017 7:49 AM

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BY BEN COLEY

bcoley@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Two seconds is an eternity in basketball.

That's all the time Rosewood's Payton Lane had Wednesday night as the Eagles inbounded the ball down one point to Spring Creek.

And boy, did she make the most of it.

Lane drove into the lane and floated a Hail Mary. She watched as the ball collided with the backboard and fell through the hoop as the buzzer rang.

Eagles 57, Gators 56. Absolute dagger.

Immediately after the shot, the Eagles' players and coaches excitedly sprinted onto the court with one intention on their mind -- squeeze the life out of their senior captain.

"Well I saw an open lane, and I realized that we were down by just one point," Lane said. "So I just took it to the basket and hoped for the best."

The only parts more exhilarating than the basket may be the events leading up to it.

Rosewood held a 55-53 lead with less than a minute remaining. Spring Creek's Ashley Marriner fouled Lane, who ended up on the floor. The Eagles' senior didn't appreciate the rough foul and shoved Marriner as soon as she reached her feet.

"It wasn't like it was really intentional," said Gators' head coach Charlie Cotten. "(Marriner) was basically just trying to get a foul, but she really didn't intend to hit her that hard."

A foul was assessed to Marriner and a technical foul was given to Lane. Both were given two free throw opportunities. Lane missed both of hers. Marriner made one to cut the lead to 55-54.

On the ensuing possession, the Gators' Jordan Lane made a layup to give Spring Creek its first lead since the second quarter.

On the final possession, Rosewood head coach Tee Wooten called for a screen involving Lane and Braylee Butts. Whichever person popped open was to take the shot, and Lane took it from there.

"Scared to death," Wooten said, describing the final play. "But I told the girls, our motto tonight was finish. By any means necessary -- finish."

Lane's basket was her only points in the fourth quarter. She finished with 11 points. Butts, who averages just under 18 points per game, scored a game-high 20 points. Marriner paced Spring Creek with 19 points.

Wooten said the team is now believing in the system and believing in him as a coach.

And when the Eagles are soaring, they are hard to stop.

"(This game) says that when we get in and grind, and trust each other, we're pretty tough, whether it's close or we're up a lot," Wooten said. "I just want to continue to grind. And I preach family and togetherness. And when you do that, and you get a team to believe in that, anything is possible."