1.7. That was the amount of time on the clock when referees blew their whistle and called Mexico for a foul in the fourth quarter of their contest with Hillcrest High School of Springfield.
The contest was the noon matchup in the “48 Hours of Hardwood” played at Greenwood High School in Springfield.
Earlier that day several of the Lady Dawgs had watched as the Mexico boys survived at triple-overtime affair with Strafford.
As Hillcrest’s Morgan Cook went to the line, overtime was definitely on everyone’s mind. Mexico led 29-27. After Cook hit her first free throw that possibility was nearer to reality, but when the junior forward missed the second and the ball skidded away, MHS held on for their second straight win.
The Lady Hornets used a strong inside game to take a five point lead for most of the second quarter, but a Kylie Burnett jump shot just before the half cut the deficit to 17-14 at the break.
Mexico switched back and forth from a 1-2-2 zone to a 2-2-1 zone in the second and Mexico Head Coach Ed Costley felt that helped his girls. “We kind of mixed up the defense… to force them to make the extra pass,” he said.
Mexico got the lead late and held on, led by Claire Hudson’s 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. She was named the Player of the Game. “Things weren’t going our way. We just had to find a way to get it done,” she added.