The first go-round between Bayfield’s and Telluride’s girls came down to the final 7.3 seconds.
The rematch Tuesday night came down to the final 9.1 seconds.
But unlike the prior matchup inside the MinerDome, Bayfield’s players and coaches could breathe much easier knowing that, thanks to senior guard Genesis Barrera’s two made free throws, the Lady Miners most likely needed two scoring possessions to pull even.
And when time expired, the Wolverines again bested the Miners with a 32-28 victory, snapping a 10-game slide in the process.
Bayfield improved to 4-14 overall, while Telluride fell to 1-16 overall.
“It came down to those free throws, really,” Bayfield coach Scott Key said. “And once she hit those we knew, with the limited amount of time on the clock, that we just really had to play strong defense, (not) foul and just take care of the ball. There was nothing, really, that they could do at that point except put us at the line.”
Bayfield opened the game on a 15-5 run. But after Telluride coach Chris Murray used a 30-second timeout late in the second quarter, the Lady Miners began a comeback as the night went on.
Telluride junior forward Emma Reggiannini made consecutive baskets to cut Bayfield’s lead to 18-14.
Foutz started getting in foul trouble, and Telluride saw its window opening. The Miners swiped a 23-22 lead at the buzzer with Lyons draining a corner 3 after Telluride inbounded the ball 7.9 seconds on the clock.
“You know, I don’t think it really affected them that much. They just knew that this was going to be a game and they’ve got to keep grinding,” Key said. “Even though it was a buzzer-beater, we got a lot of good rest in the third. A lot of underclassmen played, and that allowed our upperclassmen to come back in the fourth and play all-out. And we needed every bit of it.”
O’Callaghan and junior Quinn Paczosa combined for three steals to start the final frame, and Telluride kept Bayfield off the scoreboard for the final 3:34 before Foutz, who had 14 points, netted a go-ahead bucket. However, Lyons, who had 13 points, buried her third 3-pointer and helped Telluride go up 26-24.
Barrera’s 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter put Bayfield up 27-26, and a 3-pointer by junior guard Renae Foutz extended that lead to 30-26 with 1:55 left.
“We were kind of able to settle down and regain our composure,” Key said. “Got a lot of help from our underclassmen and we were able to get things going the right direction. I think we had five players that scored; the ball got distributed well … and that came in clutch. And we had great games from all the seniors. You could tell it was an emotional night.”
Barrera and Mead each finished with seven points for Bayfield, while Reggiannini totaled seven points for Telluride. Bayfield finished 7 of 13 from the foul line, while Telluride ended up 5 of 17 from the charity strip.
“We were so excited that we had this home game,” Key said, whose team was actually slated to face 2A Ridgway in late January before picking up Telluride as a willing replacement. “And before the game there were lots of tears and lots of memories being shared – the girls realized how much of a family they really are and how much they’re going to miss each other. It was one of those great moments bigger than sports.”
