Last fall, Caitlin Anderson came up big as an all-region goalkeeper to help Galena High School win the Northern 4A girls soccer championship.
Saturday afternoon, the Galena girls basketball team had its back to a wall and Anderson scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half as the Grizzlies rallied for a 58-52 High Desert League victory at McQueen.
Dominique Pavich also scored 16 points to help Galena (9-5, 18-9) grab a win that clinched third-place in the league and a berth in the Northern 4A Regional Tournament. A loss would have left the Grizzlies tied for fourth, and out of the playoffs.
"That was huge," Galena coach Karen Friel said. "It was either win or go home because we didn't have any of the tie-breakers."
McQueen (8-6, 15-13) led 24-23 at halftime, but Galena came back to take a 41-37 lead at the end of three quarters. The two teams were still even midway through the final period before the Grizzlies finally secured their win.
Anderson played a key role for the Grizzlies.
"She really carried us," Friel said of the 5-foot-9 junior post player. "She gets so many points on hustle and putbacks. It's just like she was in soccer, her total mentality is that she doe not want to lose."
Caitlin Crofts, who had been battling illness all weekend, and Pavich sank key free throws at the end to help put the game away.
"We missed five straight free throws to kind of keep them in the game. But we made some big ones down the stretch," said Friel, whose team shot 14-for-27 from the free throw line in the game.
Lisa Bishop led McQueen with 14 points.
Galena opens in the tournament Tuesday with a 7 p.m. game against Douglas in Minden.
