Ka'Mashya Shaw's 3-pointer lifts Ontario girls to two-point win over Ashland
ONTARIO — Ka'Mashya Shaw saw the opportunity before her and did not hesitate.
The 5-foot-3 guard for Ontario's girls basketball team knocked down a 3-pointer with time winding down in the fourth quarter Thursday to lift the Lady Warriors to a 61-59 win over Ashland on senior night on Joe Balogh Court in the O-rena.
Ashland (9-12) had just taken the lead at 59-58 with 32.5 seconds left on a free throw by Kennedy Lacey.
But Ontario (9-13), which had moved the ball around the court all game long, found Shaw alone for an open look and she let the triple fly, the ball lunging into the air off of the rim and then gently through the net for the game-winner.
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"It was nerve-racking but I calmed myself down to get my form ready," Shaw said. "I was shot-ready when I got the ball and it went in."
Ashland had one final attempt at a game-winner with 2.4 seconds remaining but an 8-foot jumper by Lacey fell just short.
But Lacey was a big part in helping Ashland erase a 41-29 half-time deficit. She scored 19 of her game-high 23 points in the second half.
Camryn Cox was also part of the Lady A's comeback bid, pouring in 12 points and swiping a game-high 13 rebounds to go with a blocked shot.
"Kennedy, she gets an open floor and she can score at any moment," Ashland coach Renee Holt said. "Cam had a tough challenge tonight against No. 20 (Ontario's Paradise Jeru), she was 6-3, so just learning to finish against that height.
"They sat in that zone all game and we knew they were going to do that, but just figuring out how to break that zone and finish around the rim was challenging."
Jeru had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
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Ontario also got outstanding play from Elaina Owens (13 points, Eden Howard (seven points) and Rylee Milner (six points).
The Lady Warriors were able to find a number of open looks and knocked down eight triples in the contest.
"We actually started moving the ball, and at the beginning of the season that wasn't happening. So they've shared the basketball and when they do, good things happen," Ontario coach Tracy Baxter said. "And Paradise did a really nice job tonight. She got those rebounds. She wasn't getting the calls she wanted but she kept playing and that's all we can ask for. She did one heck of a job on the boards and that's what we want out of her."
Baxter praised Ashland.
"Renee is doing a great job at Ashland," Baxter said. "They play hard and they're aggressive. They go get the ball and we knew that coming in that they were going to be really aggressive. She's doing great things at Ashland.
For the Lady A's, Madison Hoffman had 17 points, four rebounds and a three steals. Alex Huckleberry added five points and Cienna Steury had five rebounds and steal to lead the defensive charge.
"We've got to fine-tune some things but I think it was a tale of two halves. It's probably been 10 days since we last played and we came out in that first half and it just wasn't us. That's communication that's been holding us back all year, so we've just got to make a change," Holt said. "I'm proud of the girls for how we fought but we're not the team that everybody saw tonight, I think we've got to learn to take that next step. And I think we will; we're young."
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ontario's Shaw nails late 3-pointer to down Ashland
