Carraher sends Lynchburg-Clay to victory with 3-pointer at buzzer

DODSONVILLE — There are times when all a team needs is the final shot and a few seconds left on the clock, and that’s what happened to the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs Monday night.

Sophomore Adilyn Carraher got the final opportunity to lift the Lady Mustangs to victory, and that she did, sinking the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and pushing LCHS ahead for the 42-41 win over the visiting Ripley Lady Blue Jays.

“We had some big shots in that fourth quarter— obviously, none bigger than that last one there that Carraher hit in the corner,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Whitney Lewis said. “It’s a big pick-me-up for us and the confidence and what we need to kind of move forward. We talked about it before the game, just about this stretch of the season being, I would call them, the dog days of the season, and just coming into conference games and finding a way to win. I think that we did that today. We found a way to win. We didn't have some great possessions, but kids came together, and when it counted, we made the plays we needed.

“A game winner at the buzzer — what a way to get a home game back for the beginning of the new year.”

Carraher in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference win made a total of six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points. Carraher made two threes in both the first and fourth quarters, plus one three in both the second and third quarters. She also made a two-point basket in the opening frame.

LCHS got off to a fast and productive start in the first frame, scoring the first 10 points of the contest as Allie Waits scored the first points of the game with 5:38 on the clock, followed by a Carraher layup, and then a three from Joslyn Rockey with 4:40 on the clock. Rockey ended the game with eight points, and Waits totaled six points.  

Next was a 3-pointer by Carraher, her first of the game, with 3:04 left in the first for the 10-0 lead and a timeout called by the Lady Blue Jays.

“It was a back and forth game,” Lewis said. We came out and started the game really well. We had a 10-0 start.

“I was really proud of the kids coming out strong the way that they did.”

RHS responded with six points off a 3-pointer from Alyssa Fisher and a three-point play by Raquel Hackney. Carraher answered with her second 3-pointer of the quarter with 2:24 left in the opening quarter, putting LCHS ahead by a 13-6 score. Again, Ripley answered with a 3-pointer, this time off a shot by Brooklyn Manning.

Madison McMullen — who finished with four points — came back with a two-point basket for the Lady Mustangs, but RHS ended the first quarter with two free throws from Hackney and a 3-pointer with a couple seconds left in the quarter by Manning for a 15-14 LCHS lead.

RHS took the lead in the second quarter as time expired off a put-back basket by Manning, leaving the Lady Blue Jays ahead at 24-23. The second quarter saw RHS outscore the Lady Mustangs 10-8 with LCHS having a 3-pointer from Carraher, two points scored by Waits and a 3-pointer at the 4:07 mark by Ava McLaughlin.

RHS also held the lead once the third frame ended at 35-29 with LCHS being held to six points and the visitors scoring 11 points. Ripley led by as many as 11 points in the third, but LCHS battled back with back-to back 3-pointers from Carraher and Rockey at the 1:07 and .29 marks of the third, for the only LCHS points of the quarter.

“Ripley is a good team, so they fought back,” Lewis said. “They took the lead at the half. We wanted to make sure, coming in the second half, that we did the little things, rebounding the basketball, getting some second-chance points and making sure that we contested their shooters.

“I thought we did a better job of that in the third quarter, but just really struggled to score in that third quarter, to get to the rim. Credit Ripley's defense. They played well defensively.”

Down six points to start the fourth frame, Rockey cut the LCHS deficit to four points with a basket, but Ripley’s Callie Fultz answered with a basket, pushing the RHS lead back to six points.

Carraher came back with a 3-pointer at the 6:47 mark of the quarter, and Savannah Bell made a free throw, making it a 37-35 score with LCHS down by just two points.

Ripley had an answer of their own, as Hackney made two free throws with 5:42 left in regulation. After multiple turnovers by each team and numerous timeouts, it was LCHS tying the score at 39 with a basket from McMullen with 14 seconds on the clock.

Ripley regained the lead with just 7.4 left in the game as Hackney made a basket for a 41-39 advantage.

LCHS had one chance left for the win, and they took full advantage of that opportunity as Carraher sank the aforementioned 3-pointer, taking the shot in front of the LCHS student section and swishing the basket as the buzzer sounded for the win.

Carraher clapped her hands as the shot fell through the hoop, as her teammates rushed to celebrate the one-point victory.

Ripley was led in scoring by Manning with 18 points, making four two-point baskets, three 3-pointers. Hackney followed with nine points, making two two-point baskets and she was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Fisher totaled nine points for Ripley, while Grace Taylor finished with three points and Fultz had two points.

LC’s win improves their overall record to 6-7 and 3-5 in the SHAC Division I standings. Ripley moves to 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the SHAC Division II standings.

BOX SCORE
RHS        14 10 11 06 — 41
LCHS    15 08 06 13 — 42

LYNCHBURG-CLAY (42) — S.Bell 0 (0) 1-2 1, A.McLaughlin 0 (1) 0-0 3, J.Rockey 1 (2) 0-0 8, M.McMullen 2 (0) 0-0 4, A.Waits 0 (2) 0-0 6, A.Carraher 1 (6) 0-0 20. TOTALS: 4 (11) 1-2 42.

RIPLEY (41) — A.Fisher 3 (1) 0-0 9, C.Fultz 1 (0) 0-4 2, G.Taylor 1 (0) 1-2 3, A.May 0 (0) 0-2 0, A.Taylor 0 (0) 0-2 0, B.Manning 4 (3) 0-0 18, R.Hackney 2 (0) 5-5 9. TOTALS: 11 (4) 6-15 41.

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