WILLIAMSBURG — The Pineville Lady Mountain Lions are the 13th Region All “A” champs after outlasting Lynn Camp 56-52 in double-overtime in Friday’s championship game.
“I’m so proud of these girls. We were down most of regulation and I can’t say enough about our effort. Our effort is what got us back into the game,” said Pineville coach Matt Shafer.
Pineville trailed by eleven after one quarter, but battled back repeatedly. The Lady Wildcats held a 43-38 lead after a Jessica May basket with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Lynn Camp twice missed the front end of the bonus and Devin Enix drove the baseline for a lay in to cut the lead to three points with eight second to go.
Enix was fouled on the basket, but missed the free throw. May grabbed the rebound and was fouled with six second left in regulation. She missed both ends of the double bonus to keep the door open for the Lady Lions.
Sophomore guard Emily Mullins was left all alone in the right corner after Erica Gambrell penetrated to draw the Lynn Camp defense. She got off the game-tying trey just before the buzzer sounded to force overtime with the score knotted at 43.
“We called a time out to set up a play. We had confidence in our teammates. Erica makes a great pass to Emily and she steps up confident and hits it,” Shafer said. “In overtime we hit a couple of spots where we tried to give the game away, but we pulled through.”
It was 50-all after one extra frame, and the Lady Lion defense forced five turnovers in last overtime to pull out the win. Gambrell hit one free throw and then came up with a steal and a layup to give Pineville the lead for good at 53-52 with 2:40 to play. Two free throws from Mullins and one from Gambrell set the final at 56-52.
“We pride ourselves on our conditioning and it rose to the occasion in that second overtime. We did a good job of having our legs underneath of us,” Shafer added. “We hit our free throws when we needed them.”
Free throw shooting was a bit of a sore spot for the Lady Lions on the night as they connected on just 16-of-32 from the line. That included just a 5-of-12 effort in the fourth quarter or they likely could have won the game in regulation.
Outside of Heather Wilson, who went 5-for-5 from the line on her way to a team-high 16 points, the Lady Wildcats also struggled at the line. They hit 13-of-21 for the game and just 4-of-9 in fourth quarter and missed their last four in regulation to help Pineville stay alive.
Lynn Camp surged to a 15-4 lead after one quarter behind eight points from May, their junior center. Wilson added four points and Brooklyn Bryant hit a 3-pointer. Meanwhile the Lady Lions were limited to just a 3 from Gambrell and a free throw by Annalee Adams.
Pineville scored the first nine points of the second period to get back in the game. Stacey Washington, Gambrell and Enix had baskets and Adams knocked down a 3-pointer with about 2:00 left in the half to cut it to a two-point game.
Two free throws from May and a 3 from Bryant gave the Lady Wildcats a cushion and a putback from Enix made it 20-15 at halftime.
The Lady Lions switched into a half-court zone defense with Mullins fronting May and Washington playing behind her for the entire second half. Three steals led to three quick baskets — two from Enix and one from Gambrell — as Pineville took a 21-20 lead early in the third quarter.
Lynn Camp finally started finding the soft spots in the zone and Merita Burke hit a short jumper and later a 3 to put the Lady Wildcats back out to a 27-21 lead by the 3:35 mark. A 3 from Enix and three points from Adams tied the game at 29, but Wilson and Smith knocked down treys before the end of the quarter and Lynn Camp carried a 35-29 lead into the fourth.
Adams and Mullins hit two free throws each to bring Pineville back within two points. Wilson and Mullins traded three-point plays and it was 38-36 with 3:19 left in regulation.
Wilson hit two free throws but Adams later came away with a steal and layup and it was 40-38. May made her presence felt on the defensive end by blocking an Enix shot and grabbing the rebound. She was fouled and hit one free throw with 55 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to three. Bryant snagged an offensive rebound after May missed the second free throw and the Lady Wildcats worked the ball back inside to May for a basket with 45 seconds on the clock to set the stage for Pineville’s late comeback.
Pineville junior forward Devin Enix led all scorers with 17 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Senior Annalee Adams finished with 16 points while Gambrell and Mullins added 11 each for the Lady Lions. Those three also represented Pineville on the all-tournament team along with Washington.
“They just keep getting better every single day. I’ve never been as proud of a bunch of a kids that I’ve coached, ever,” Shafer said.
Lynn Camp was led by Heather Wilson’s 16 points and Jessica May added 15. They were named to the all-tournament team along with Kayla Smith.
Rounding out the all-tournament team were Middlesboro’s Blair Green and Bailey Hensley, OBI’s Madison Kehler and Yujay Proctor, Jackson County’s Brianna Rose, Barbourville’s Kelsey Erlsan, Red Bird’s Jani Slusher and Williasmburg’s Kacie Brown.
Lynn Camp (13-4) plays at Harlan on Monday while Pineville (12-7) visits Jackson County on Tuesday.
With the win the Lady Lions also earn a spot in the Touchtone Energy All “A” State Tournament. Pineville will take on the Region 9 winner (either Newport Central Catholic or St. Henry) in the first round on Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Frankfort Convention Center.
— — —
Pineville…4…11…14…14…7…6 — 56
Lynn Camp…15…5…15…8…7..4 — 52
PINEVILLE (56): Devin Enix 17, Annalee Adams 13, Erica Gambrell 11, Emily Mullins 11, Stacey Washington 4, Rachel Barnes 0.
LYNN CAMP (52): Heather Wilson 16, Jessica May 15, Kayla Smith 8, Merita Burke 7, Brooklyn Bryant 6, Brianna Hollin 0.
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