Shallowater girls basketball fights off Huntington in OT to win 3A state championship
SAN ANTONIO — Shallowater conquered one last giant.
The unranked Fillies outlasted No. 22 Huntington 54-49 in overtime in the girls basketball Class 3A state championship Saturday at the Alamodome. It's the third title in program history.
Shallowater trailed by eight points in the third quarter before the comeback capped its fourth consecutive win over a ranked foe. The Fillies went 14-1 to finish the season after a loss to Slaton dropped them to fifth place in district.
Shallowater takes advantage of Kyra Anderson foul trouble
Kyra Anderson, a 6-foot-1 power forward, had 28 points and 17 rebounds in Huntington's semifinal win. She helped stake the Devilettes an early lead before exiting with two fouls.
Anderson checked out with Huntington up 6-2, and the Fillies closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run.
Anderson made her presence felt when she returned, scoring six points in the second period. The Devilettes trailed by as many as eight but retook the lead when Harleigh Havard banked in a frantic 3-point heave at the buzzer.
Anderson fouled out with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Addison Pitts hit both ensuing free throws to give Shallowater a three-point lead.
"Not having that size in there (in overtime), being able to throw it in and out, obviously we knew going into the overtime we were hurting," Huntington coach Shawn Jones said, "but we thought we'd still get it done if we didn't turn the ball over."
ADDING TO LORE: The Kurt Richardson era for Shallowater is off and running
Fillies claw back in third quarter
Havard's bucket energized the Devilettes going into the locker room. The team carried that feeling into the second half.
Huntington scored the first five points of the third quarter to take its biggest lead, 29-22. The Devilettes again went up seven on Anderson's three-point play with 3 minutes, 45 seconds in the frame. The Huntington senior emphatically yelled "and one" after drawing the foul.
With all the momentum seemingly with the Devilettes, Shallowater scrapped its way back into it with a 6-0 close to the quarter.
That included a possession with two offensive rebounds, which led to Maggie Grimes' layup.
Havard's only other points came on an almost identical heave. She banked in a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
"I just threw it up there," Havard said. "I'm not gonna lie."
Maggie Grimes fights for Shallowater
The embodiment of this year's Fillies, Grimes finished the season with more of the same.
The 5-foot-6 junior tallied 10 points, five steals and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
Grimes made 8 of 10 free-throw attempts, including 2 of 4 attempts in overtime.
Keelie Williams knocked down two 3-pointers in the first 67 seconds of the extra frame and Shallowater never trailed. Williams finished with a team-high 13 points to earn championship-game MVP.
"We knew (Huntington) was gonna be good," Shallowater coach Kurt Richardson said. "And that's what we talked about at halftime: It's the state championship, what'd you think, it was gonna be easy? This isn't going to be a 40-point beating. It's gonna be a battle.
"Y'all didn't know I was prophetic, did you?"
SEMIFINAL WIN: Shallowater guts out win over No. 3 Emory Rains to advance to 3A final
YOUNG GUNS: Shallowater sophomores have grown up during push to title game
SENIOR IMPACT: Shallowater's Salinas 'at peace' with new role helping team
CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Shallowater 54, Huntington 49 (OT)
Shallowater 14 8 9 14 9 — 54
Huntington 8 16 8 13 4 — 49
Shallowater (28-12): Addison Pitts 7, Carli Buckley 12, Linley Wright 8, Maggie Grimes 10, Keelie Williams 13, Lillie Wells 4.
Huntington (36-7): Kyra Anderson 17, Caitlyn Stanley 6, Lexi Litton 10, Harleigh Havard 6, Claire Harris 3, Jesie Rogers 7.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Shallowater girls basketball tops Huntington for Class 3A state championship
