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Snyder’s A’lize Conner (35) dribbles away from Graham’s Allison Lee before making the game-winning shot in Tuesday’s Class 4A bi-district playoff game. -
Snyder’s Natalee James (23) dribbles downcourt during the fourth quarter in Tuesday’s Class 4A bi-district playoff game.
TUSCOLA — Snyder junior A’Lize Conner knows how to make big shots at the end of the game.
Conner made a 15-foot jump shot with one second left to give Snyder a 57-55 win over Graham in a Class 4A bi-district basketball playoff game.
“We had to keep our minds focused on the play and get the winning shot with four seconds left,” said Conner, who made the game-winning lay-up at Sweetwater, two weeks ago. “We ran the play kinda like it was drawn up. Sometimes you have to adjust on the run, depending on where the ball is and the time left in the game. The big part was Nicole (Martinez) getting the ball to me. When I released the ball, I knew that it was going in the basket. It was a big win for the team.”
Snyder head coach T’Leah Eicke said it was the first time that the play had been used in a game, even though the Lady Tigers practiced it last month.
“They executed the play close to the way it was drawn up,” Eicke said. “Sometimes you adjust because what the defense is doing. They did a good job of execution. Natalee passed to Nicole, who passed to A’lize. All three players didn’t care who got the last shot. It was about scoring and winning.”
Snyder (14-18) will play Kennedale, which defeated Godley 58-53, in an area round game at Eastland High School at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The game was tied three times during the first quarter before Snyder was able to build a lead. Conner made two free throws while Jordan Phillips’ lay-up gave Snyder a 12-8 lead. Graham scored the final field goal of the quarter to cut the deficit to 12-10.
Snyder scored seven unanswered points to start the second quarter and took a 28-23 lead into halftime. Graham tied the game at 38-38 after three quarters.
The game was tied four times and the lead changed nine times in the fourth quarter. Graham scored six unanswered points to break a 44-44 tie with 1:45 left in the game.
“It is not easy being down six points late in the game,” Eicke said. “Graham was stalling the ball and we had to go and get them. We scored off a steal and knew that we couldn’t back off. We have quickness and been working more on our defense and forced them into a turnover. You win games on defense.”
After a Snyder timeout, Martinez started the final run with a steal and lay-up. The Lady Tigers forced an inbound violation and Conner scored with 1:32 left and cut Graham’s lead to 50-48.
After trading free throws, Conner’s 3-pointer tied the game at 53-53 with 58 seconds left.
The Lady Blues regained the lead, but Snyder tied the game at 55-55 on Angie Murillo’s two free throws.
“We talked about facing pressure and knew what we needed to do to win,” Conner said. “We looked up at the scoreboard and knew we needed to keep pushing. We wanted to win a gold ball.”
Conner said her teammates have supported her since she was a freshman.
“It feels good to be a part of this team,” she said. “I could not come back from the two knee surgeries without the support of my teammates, coach and trainer. They helped me to get where I needed to be.”
Conner scored 23 points while Natalee James added 11 points for Snyder. Ashley Gallaway had 16 points for Graham, followed by Ryan Gober and Cammi Teplicek, who each added 11 points.
Eicke said work for Kennedale began today.
“They handled the pressure and I knew they would,” she said. “We have a great team culture and look forward to the next game.”
Graham 10 13 15 17—55
Snyder 12 16 10 19—57
Graham scorers — Ashley Gallaway 16, Ryan Gober 11, Cammi Teplicek 11, Trinity Franklin 6, Allison Lee 5, Nicole King 4, Michelle Delong 2.
Snyder scorers — A’lize Conner 23, Natalee James 11, Angie Murillo 8, Jordan Phillips 6, Kamiah Davis 5, Nicole Martinez 4.