While the game against Sargent may not have ended the way the Ignacio High School girls basketball team wanted on the scoreboard, Bobcats freshman Morgan Herrera had a night to remember.
Herrera was having a rough game shooting the basketball until it mattered most. The power forward had already pulled down 20 rebounds, but she was only 3-for-10 from the foul line and missed a game-tying free throw attempt on what seemed to be the team’s final possession.
However, when the game was on the line, Herrera came up big time. With 0.7 seconds on the clock and IHS down three points, Herrera banked in a long 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately, the Bobcats (4-3, 2-0 San Juan Basin League) lost the game 57-53, but the majority in attendance will remember Herrera’s performance of 18 points and 22 rebounds and the improbable shot that sent the game to overtime.
“The play was drawn up for me to come around and try to get fouled,” said Herrera, daughter of Chris and Kathy Herrera and the younger sister of Ignacio and Fort Lewis College legendary player Alex Herrera. “I didn’t get fouled, so I was just hoping it would go in.”
Overtime was appropriate because the teams were neck-and-neck for most of the evening. It was a promising start for the Bobcats, who scored the game’s first five points and held a one-point advantage at the end of the first quarter. The game was tied at halftime, and Sargent had a two-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Farmers (6-3, 1-1 Southern Peaks League) went cold for a short time and could only manage to score one point in the opening five minutes of the fourth.
The Bobcats took advantage and grabbed the team’s first lead since halftime midway through the quarter and were seemingly about to take command until the Farmers found their rhythm once again.
A 6-0 run allowed Sargent to reclaim the lead, but Herrera’s 20th rebound led to a foul at the other end which gave the freshman a chance to tie the game at the line. She split the two foul shots, and, when Sargent made its two, the Bobcats needed a miracle and got one from Herrera.
“When it went in, we were just so excited,” she said. “We kind of lost control and went crazy for awhile.”
Sargent wasn’t fazed, though, and plugged away as it had all night with made jump shots and very efficient free-throw shooting. The Farmers made 11 of the team’s 15 foul shots in the final seven minutes, which allowed them to pull away in overtime.
Lainie Dillion led Sargent with 15 points, and Allison Harrison added 14.
“I didn’t think she had much time to get the shot off but she did. They counted it, and we were forced to regroup in a hurry,” Sargent head coach Stan David said. “We had a lot of players step up that helped out because some of our better players were in foul trouble. They stepped in and made the free throws, which really led the way to a big win for us.”
Avionne Gomez had 14 points for the Bobcats in the loss, and Larissa Gallegos added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Ignacio will play at home again Saturday at 2 p.m. against Norwood.
jfries@durangoherald.com
