Senators ‘Preston’ for win

Her steal, layup give Carson the victory

It was a game the Carson High’s girls basketball team needed to win, and thanks to the fourth-quarter efforts of Michelle Perry, Teresa Boehmer and Maddie Preston, the Senators accomplished their mission.

The Senators, who entered the game tied for third place with Damonte Ranch and Galena at 5-6, moved into sole possession of third place with an exciting 37-35 win over the Mustangs Friday at Morse Burley Gym. The win gives the Senators a season sweep of the series, which is the first tiebreaker.

The game came down to the last seconds when Preston stole a ball near midcourt and raced in for the game-winning layup.

The game was tied at 33 with 2:07 left and at 35 with 24 seconds left before Preston (11 points) thrilled the partisan crowd with her basket.

This was a nail-biter throughout, as the teams were never separated by more than six points.

“I think we started to feel the pressure,” Carson High coach Nathan Tolbert said.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been in a close game. We just continued to believe in what we were doing. This was a game we needed.

“We run that half-court pressure. We have to find ways to get some spark, and that’s usually our defense. Maddie made a big play.”

The game was tied at 27, 29, 33 and 35 in the wild fourth quarter.

Delaney Hanson tied the game for the Mustangs at 27 with a 3-pointer, and then Boehmer and Tali Faitlin traded baskets to make it 29-all with 5:06 left. Perry (11 points) and Boehmer (8 points) scored buckets to make it 33-29 with 4:13 remaining. Damonte got baskets from Hanson and Jasmin Hubbard to tie it at 33 with 2:07 left.

Perry scored to give the Senators a 35-33 lead with 1:45 left. Neither team scored for more than a minute. Carson turned the ball over twice and Bailey Allen’s layup was off the mark. Damonte missed two shots from the field and turned the ball over once. Megan Carlson knotted the game at 35 after Carson failed to get back on defense after Allen’s miss.

Kayla Aikins had her shot blocked by Carlson, and Damonte started upcourt with a chance to go ahead. Preston thwarted that with her steal and layup with 5 seconds remaining.

Boehmer, who;s counted on for offense usually, scored all eight of her points in the second half.

The CHS post player scored two straight baskets to end the third quarter, giving the Senators a 27-24 lead. She gave the Senators a 29-27 lead with her first fourth-quarter score and then her second bucket gave CHS a 33-29 lead.

“Teresa puts so much pressure on herself, especially at the Douglas game,” Tolbert said. “One thing I told her is to stay within herself; don’t try to do so much.”

Carson visits Wooster Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.