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Natalee James (23) attempts a field goal in the lane over Sweetwater’s Elli Lehnert. James scored 13 points in Snyder’s 69-68 win Friday night.
SWEETWATER — A’lize Conner had one thought going through her mind when she was driving downcourt in the final seconds of Friday’s game at Sweetwater.
“I just have to get down the floor and try my hardest to win this not only for me, but my team,” she said.
She did.
Conner’s lay-up at the buzzer gave Snyder (13-17, 4-3) a 69-68 win over Sweetwater (9-20, 2-5) in a District 5-4A game and momentum heading into a showdown with Brownwood Tuesday night.
Brownwood defeated Big Spring 58-35 and remained one game ahead of Snyder in the district standings.
Holding a 68-67 lead with six seconds left on the clock, Sweetwater’s Tavis Black was fouled. She missed both free throws, but was able to make her way through the lane and grabbed the rebound. Her put-back attempt did not fall and Conner grabbed the rebound and headed downcourt. Her lay-up rattled around the rim and fell through as the buzzer sounded.
“This will do a lot for us in the playoffs,” Conner said. “We will be playing for second. We need to work as a team and do what is best for everyone.”
Snyder head coach T’Leah Eicke said the road win is a “huge stepping stone” for her young team.
“I knew it was going to be tough here. This has always been a tough place to play,” Eicke said. “You have the crowd right behind the bench. We overcame it. We are still building, but this was a huge stepping stone.”
Eicke said the atmosphere resembled a playoff game, something she knew her team would need for later in the season.
“The crowd was loud. This was a great playoff experience for us,” she said.
For the second-year coach, she gets to say something that put a smile on her face.
“We control our own destiny,” she said of playing for second place in the district. “It feels good going home with this win. Brownwood is coming to town and they are going to come in and fight. Saying we get to play for second place makes me proud of how far this team has come.”
Eicke said she can see the player’s desire everywhere.
“They work hard in practice and in the classroom. They are making me proud,” she said.
The end of the game did not match the beginning as both teams struggled in the first quarter. The Lady Tigers scored the final four points of the quarter to take an 8-5 lead.
Snyder built a 14-8 lead in the first 69 seconds of the second quarter and the advantage grew to 19-12 with 5:33 left in the half. However, Sweetwater was able to use a 16-6 run to take a 28-26 lead with 1:25 left on the clock. Snyder was able to tie the game twice from that point, including 30-30 at halftime.
The Lady Mustangs were able to build a 36-32 lead, but the Snyder defense tightened during a 7-0 run in the third quarter. Sweetwater bounced back to take a 47-46 lead, but Melanie Martinez made a field goal with six seconds left to give Snyder a 48-47 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The game remained closed in the fourth quarter with three ties and four lead changes, including early on when Sweetwater scored the first five points to take a 52-48 lead.
Snyder battled back to tie the game on Conner’s lay-up and took a 55-54 lead on free throws by Kamiah Davis and Natalee James. Davis’ field goal and two free throws increased the lead to 59-55 with 4:30 left in the game.
From that point, both teams were able to match each other until Conner’s drive for the game-winning lay-up.
Conner finished with 25 points while James added 13 points. Davis had 12 points.
Black led all scorers with 30 points while Shavie Green added 11 for Sweetwater.
Snyder 8 22 18 21—69
Sweetwater 5 25 17 21—68
Snyder scorers — A’lize Conner 25, Natalee James 13, Kamiah Davis 12, Nicole Martinez 9, Melanie Martinez 6, Franzi Luecke 4.
Sweetwater scorers — Tavis Black 30, Shavie Green 11, Amber Knox 7, Jessica Poe 7, Jazal Villa 4, Elli Lehnert 3, Kyla Daniel 3, Nevaeh Sarabia 3.