At the buzzer: Rooks sends Lady Tigers to victory over Clinton-Massie
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — If McClain senior Sammy Rooks doesn't have ice water flowing through her veins, then her concentration level is unmatchable.
For the second time this season, Rooks not only led the Lady Tigers to victory in dramatic fashion, but did it at the buzzer, as the senior knocked down a pressure-packed 3-pointer, with defensive players surrounding her, to win the game. This time around it was a 35-32 victory at MHS.
As soon as the ball swished through the hoop, teammates of Rooks jumped around her, celebrating the moment of defeating the South Central Ohio League first-place, and state-ranked Lady Falcons.
Rooks spoke about the final moments of the game, as she scored nine total points.
"I was very nervous … we got in the huddle, went into our play. It came down to the last shot, and I just threw it up there," Rooks said after taking a deep breath. "He told me to do a shot fake … and it worked."
MHS head coach Dennis Overstake also spoke about the final sequence, as MHS called a timeout with the score tied at 32 with 18.1 left of the clock in the final quarter.
"It was a play to go down to the corner, into the post, but it got busted," Overstake said. "If I remember what I saw right, we got the ball into Jenna (Perie), and she got the ball into Sammy.
"Something we have harped on all year is the shot fake. When Sammy got out there in front, she gave Moyer a shot fake … she went up, and Sammy was able to get kind of squared up and shoot it. That's the same position Sammy was in up at Miami Trace … both times were busted plays, but we found the person who was open."
MHS is currently in second place in the SCOL, trailing CM by one game. Each team has one league game remaining this Saturday as CM will host Hillsboro, and MHS will host Miami Trace. A win by CM will give them the outright league title.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers (14-5) trailed by six points at 27-21, but that didn't last too long with Perie and Shania Massie scoring four points in the first 2:00 of the quarter. Perie scored a jumper while falling to the ground, and Massie's points came off a CM turnover.
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 14 points.
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A 3-pointer by CM's Allison Monnin put the Lady Falcons ahead by five points, but MHS was there to answer with six straight points as Massie (a 3-pointer), Taylor Faulconer and two free throws by Brittany Mullikin put MHS ahead 32-30 with 2:43 left in the quarter.
The lead lasted 24 seconds when Sydney Brockmyre made two points for CM, but after being unable to take the lead on free throws, the Lady Tigers gained possession of the ball with 1:25 left on the clock.
MHS kept quiet as they held the ball until there was 18.5 seconds left when they called a timeout. That's when the strategy came in, Rooks hit the game winner and the celebration began.
"Coach Wilkerson does an excellent job with his team," Overstake said, as he now has 489 career coaching wins. "CM has a lot of talent, and if they listen to what he tells them, they will go a long way in the tournament."
In what is now their fifth consecutive win, the Lady Tigers began the game with a 10-9 lead after the first frame but trailed by two points at the half at 18-16.
In a bit of irony that later would be possible, Rooks began the game with a 3-pointer, but after five straight points by the Lady Falcons, the combo of Massie and Perie put the Lady Tigers ahead 8-5 with 3:14 left in the opening frame. MHS eventually went ahead 10-6, but three free throws by CM made it a one-point game after eight minutes.
CM tied the game at 10 in the second with 5:49 left in the quarter when Hannah Smith connected from the free-throw line. Smith led CM with nine points.
A layup by Massie put the Lady Tigers back in front, but consecutive 3-pointers by Brockmyre and Smith, along with a jumper by Brockmyre, lifted CM back into the lead at 18-12 with 3:20 left in the half.
After Perie, who led MHS with six rebounds, took a charge, Rooks scored a three-point play and Mullikin sank a free throw with 2.3 on the clock, ending the first half with MHS trailing by two points.
MHS trailed by the aforementioned six points after three quarters, but in that frame they were outscored 9-5, with Mary Moyer (who finished with eight points) scoring four consecutive points to start the quarter. Massie followed with two converted free throws. After exchanging points, CM ended the third with a free throw by Brianna Machado.
Overstake spoke on the little things that helped win the game on Wednesday.
"When Taylor and Jenna came in with foul trouble, they did a nice job on both ends of the floor … you can't ask for more than that," Overstake said. "For the last five or six games, everybody has been doubling down on Jenna, and she's been doing a lot of passing and finding people.
"She's giving up points, but she's finding other people to score more when she gets them the ball. As we finish the season against Miami Trace and head into the tournament, we've got to have everybody stepping up and playing this type of ball game."
MHS will wrap up the regular season with one final SCOL contest, hosting the Miami Trace Lady Panthers on Saturday night. That game will have one half of JV play. Following the JV game, MHS will honor its six senior basketball players.
In JV play, CM defeated MHS 35-31. Leading CM were Megan Frederick and Hannah Duncan with nine points each. Leading MHS were Katy Unger with 13 points and Tara Karnes with eight.
GAME NOTES: MHS totaled 17 rebounds, one taken charge, eight steals, one assist and 13 turnovers … CM had nine rebounds, three blocked shots, one taken charge, four steals, three turnovers and six turnovers … CM committed 14 fouls … MHS committed 16 fouls … In their first meeting of the season at CMHS, the Lady Tigers lost by a score of 41-28.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CM 09 09 09 05 — 32
MHS 10 06 05 14 — 35
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (35)
S.Rooks 1 (2) 1-3 9
T.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Massie 4 (1) 3-4 14
K.Crabtree 0 (0) 1-2 1
K.Faulconer 0 (0) 0-2 0
B.Mullikin 0 (0) 3-4 3
J.Perie 3 (0) 0-0 6
TOTALS: 9 (3) 8-14 35
CM (32)
M.Moyer 4 (0) 0-1 8
B.Machado 0 (0) 1-3 1
H.Smith 0 (2) 3-4 9
A.Monnin 0 (0) 1-2 1
K.Uetrecht 0 (0) 1-2 1
S.Brockmyre 4 (1) 1-3 12
TOTALS: 8 (3) 7-15 32
For the second time this season, Rooks not only led the Lady Tigers to victory in dramatic fashion, but did it at the buzzer, as the senior knocked down a pressure-packed 3-pointer, with defensive players surrounding her, to win the game. This time around it was a 35-32 victory at MHS.
As soon as the ball swished through the hoop, teammates of Rooks jumped around her, celebrating the moment of defeating the South Central Ohio League first-place, and state-ranked Lady Falcons.
Rooks spoke about the final moments of the game, as she scored nine total points.
"I was very nervous … we got in the huddle, went into our play. It came down to the last shot, and I just threw it up there," Rooks said after taking a deep breath. "He told me to do a shot fake … and it worked."
MHS head coach Dennis Overstake also spoke about the final sequence, as MHS called a timeout with the score tied at 32 with 18.1 left of the clock in the final quarter.
"It was a play to go down to the corner, into the post, but it got busted," Overstake said. "If I remember what I saw right, we got the ball into Jenna (Perie), and she got the ball into Sammy.
"Something we have harped on all year is the shot fake. When Sammy got out there in front, she gave Moyer a shot fake … she went up, and Sammy was able to get kind of squared up and shoot it. That's the same position Sammy was in up at Miami Trace … both times were busted plays, but we found the person who was open."
MHS is currently in second place in the SCOL, trailing CM by one game. Each team has one league game remaining this Saturday as CM will host Hillsboro, and MHS will host Miami Trace. A win by CM will give them the outright league title.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers (14-5) trailed by six points at 27-21, but that didn't last too long with Perie and Shania Massie scoring four points in the first 2:00 of the quarter. Perie scored a jumper while falling to the ground, and Massie's points came off a CM turnover.
Massie led all scorers with a game-high 14 points.
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A 3-pointer by CM's Allison Monnin put the Lady Falcons ahead by five points, but MHS was there to answer with six straight points as Massie (a 3-pointer), Taylor Faulconer and two free throws by Brittany Mullikin put MHS ahead 32-30 with 2:43 left in the quarter.
The lead lasted 24 seconds when Sydney Brockmyre made two points for CM, but after being unable to take the lead on free throws, the Lady Tigers gained possession of the ball with 1:25 left on the clock.
MHS kept quiet as they held the ball until there was 18.5 seconds left when they called a timeout. That's when the strategy came in, Rooks hit the game winner and the celebration began.
"Coach Wilkerson does an excellent job with his team," Overstake said, as he now has 489 career coaching wins. "CM has a lot of talent, and if they listen to what he tells them, they will go a long way in the tournament."
In what is now their fifth consecutive win, the Lady Tigers began the game with a 10-9 lead after the first frame but trailed by two points at the half at 18-16.
In a bit of irony that later would be possible, Rooks began the game with a 3-pointer, but after five straight points by the Lady Falcons, the combo of Massie and Perie put the Lady Tigers ahead 8-5 with 3:14 left in the opening frame. MHS eventually went ahead 10-6, but three free throws by CM made it a one-point game after eight minutes.
CM tied the game at 10 in the second with 5:49 left in the quarter when Hannah Smith connected from the free-throw line. Smith led CM with nine points.
A layup by Massie put the Lady Tigers back in front, but consecutive 3-pointers by Brockmyre and Smith, along with a jumper by Brockmyre, lifted CM back into the lead at 18-12 with 3:20 left in the half.
After Perie, who led MHS with six rebounds, took a charge, Rooks scored a three-point play and Mullikin sank a free throw with 2.3 on the clock, ending the first half with MHS trailing by two points.
MHS trailed by the aforementioned six points after three quarters, but in that frame they were outscored 9-5, with Mary Moyer (who finished with eight points) scoring four consecutive points to start the quarter. Massie followed with two converted free throws. After exchanging points, CM ended the third with a free throw by Brianna Machado.
Overstake spoke on the little things that helped win the game on Wednesday.
"When Taylor and Jenna came in with foul trouble, they did a nice job on both ends of the floor … you can't ask for more than that," Overstake said. "For the last five or six games, everybody has been doubling down on Jenna, and she's been doing a lot of passing and finding people.
"She's giving up points, but she's finding other people to score more when she gets them the ball. As we finish the season against Miami Trace and head into the tournament, we've got to have everybody stepping up and playing this type of ball game."
MHS will wrap up the regular season with one final SCOL contest, hosting the Miami Trace Lady Panthers on Saturday night. That game will have one half of JV play. Following the JV game, MHS will honor its six senior basketball players.
In JV play, CM defeated MHS 35-31. Leading CM were Megan Frederick and Hannah Duncan with nine points each. Leading MHS were Katy Unger with 13 points and Tara Karnes with eight.
GAME NOTES: MHS totaled 17 rebounds, one taken charge, eight steals, one assist and 13 turnovers … CM had nine rebounds, three blocked shots, one taken charge, four steals, three turnovers and six turnovers … CM committed 14 fouls … MHS committed 16 fouls … In their first meeting of the season at CMHS, the Lady Tigers lost by a score of 41-28.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CM 09 09 09 05 — 32
MHS 10 06 05 14 — 35
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (35)
S.Rooks 1 (2) 1-3 9
T.Faulconer 1 (0) 0-0 2
S.Massie 4 (1) 3-4 14
K.Crabtree 0 (0) 1-2 1
K.Faulconer 0 (0) 0-2 0
B.Mullikin 0 (0) 3-4 3
J.Perie 3 (0) 0-0 6
TOTALS: 9 (3) 8-14 35
CM (32)
M.Moyer 4 (0) 0-1 8
B.Machado 0 (0) 1-3 1
H.Smith 0 (2) 3-4 9
A.Monnin 0 (0) 1-2 1
K.Uetrecht 0 (0) 1-2 1
S.Brockmyre 4 (1) 1-3 12
TOTALS: 8 (3) 7-15 32