Wilmore, KY--Three years of disappointing endings were wiped away in about five minutes of play and at 8:43 p.m., Tuesday night, in Asbury's Luce Center, the Eagles were cutting down the nets as KIAC champions for the first time ever and were heading to the NAIA tournament for the first time in school history.
The Eagles (26-6, the first 26-win team in school history) beat a tough and scrappy IU East team of freshmen 64-61 in the KIAC final. The Eagles came into the game having lost three consecutive conference championship games, and this one was a struggle, so much so that the Eagles, down 10 points and struggling to find offense late in the second half, looked all but finished.
In the end, it was two, clutch Kylee Gorby free throws that clinched it and an AJ Lewissteal in the dying seconds that effectively ended it. But there were many other moments, including Annissia Wood's running one-hander to give the Eagles the lead at 58-57. Wood then hit another spinning, twisting layup to put the Eagles up by three. Brittany Warren's two, clutch free throws with 49.4 left. A Lewis driving layup to cut the IU East lead to a point.
But this game will be remembered more for a sequence of events than for a single moment. With eight minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles looked to be in desperate trouble.
"We were talking on the bench that we just had to get stops," said Jason Price, the Eagles' first-year head coach. "We were giving up easy shots in the first half. I knew we could score. I knew if we got stops we could win."
The Eagles cut the IU East lead to six with 6:52 remaining on a run-out and layup by Gorby.
A Brittany Warren three cut it to 55-52, IU East.
The Lewis layup trimmed the IU margin to a point at 57-56 with 4:58 remaining. Timeout IU East.
The Red Wolves turned the ball over and the Eagles somehow had a chance to take the lead. Enter Wood.
Wood on a running one hander. Eagles up 58-57.
Wood with another bucket. Eagles up 60-57.
IU East answered--60-59 with under two minutes left, Eagles with the ball.
Warren was fouled on a drive to the basket with 49.4 left. She made both free throws. 62-59.
But IU East made a put back on four tries and cut the lead to a point. The Red Wolves fouled Gorby, who made both.
Then Lewis, (seven points, nine rebounds, six steals) who will never make a bigger play in her college career, stole the ball, was fouled, missed her free throw, but got her own rebound and dribbled away the last two seconds.
"I was kind of shocked actually," said Price. "Getting to Iowa, (to the national tournament) that was our number one goal and when you actually achieve that goal, the feeling is indescribable."
Asbury came out of the locker room firing and, at least for a while, it looked as if the Eagles might be in for an easy night.
The Eagles got off to a 13-5 start in the game capped by a Catie Fletcher three pointer. IU East looked to be in serious trouble when head coach Tiffany Selhorst called timeout 4:54 minutes into the half.
But IU East slowly ate into the lead and cut it to four, 24-20, with 6:11 left.
The Eagles were their own worst enemy early, turning the ball over 13 times in the first half and often struggling to finish scoring opportunities at the rim. The Eagles shot only 33 percent from the field in the half and 34 percent for the game.
Brittany Warren, who led the Eagles with 17 points, hit a three to make it 27-21 with six minutes remaining in the half.
A Catie Fletcher pull up jumper pushed the lead to 29-21 Eagles with 4:40 left. But IU East refused to go away.
The Red Wolves ended the half on 12-1 run and took a 33-30 lead and a lot of momentum into the break.
The second half began much like the first half ended.
Eagles turned the ball over in their first possession of the second half and they were quickly down by eight at 40-32 less than a minute and a half in. Price called timeout. The IU East lead grew to 10.
Now, it was the Eagles who had to mount a comeback or endure a fourth straight, gut-wrenching, conference final loss. Not only did they mount a comeback, they climbed what looked to be an insurmountable obstacle and took their place in history.
No one had to tell you after the game how important tonight was for the Eagles. All you had to do was look at Kylee Gorby, who calmy made two free throws with 20 seconds remaining, and quietly sobbed at midcourt as time ran out.
-- article courtesy of Asbury Univesity, http://www.asburyeagles.com/article/2683.php