Karissa Cox sends the game to overtime by hitting a runner in the lane in the final minute
Damascus Christians Karissa Cox came up with some clutch baskets down the stretch to help the Eagles to a hard-fought 53-51 overtime win over Perrydale in a clash of 1A contenders Saturday night.
Trailing by two with less than a minute to play, Cox dribbled into the paint and sent a runner into the air from about 10 feet out. The shot hit the front of the rim and climbed over to knot the score at 44-44.
Perrydales Brooke Barnes was fouled on her way to the basket, sending her to the free-throw line with just :07 on the clock. But her attempt came off the side of the rim, and Damascus guard Ana Wakefield tracked it down in the corner of the court to send the game to overtime.
Cox came up big in the extra period, starting with a step-back 3 from out top. She led a fast break on the teams next trip down court, pausing at the arc before surging past her defender to get to the rim for a layup and a 52-46 lead with 1:36 to play.
But Perrydale wasnt ready to load up the bus just yet.
In fact, the Pirates would have a shot at the win before the buzzer sounded.
Cheyenne Locke buried her seventh 3-pointer of the night to pull Perrydale within a single point with 0:42 to play.
An Eagles miss at the free-throw line kept the door open with 8.5 seconds left. Perrydale pushed the ball down court quickly, kicking the ball out to Barnes at the top of the key for a long ball that would win the game. Her try was on target, but fell short, hitting the front of the rim as time expired.
Damascus (12-1) remains the top-ranked team in the 1A RPI heading into Fridays Valley 10 League showdown at No. 3 City Christian (12-1). Perrydale (10-3) is ranked No. 6 with two of its losses coming to Damascus.
Look for extended game coverage in the Tuesday, Jan. 8, edition of The Outlook.
View a photo gallery from the game at
http://daveball.exposuremanager.com/g/jan5_dc_girls_hoops