Tecumseh girls basketball stops losing streak to Chelsea

TECUMSEH — With 106 seconds left, it seemed the Tecumseh girls basketball team was facing an 18th-straight loss to Chelsea down 55-48.

Tecumseh, which led most of the game and held a 48-37 lead going into the fourth after Lauren Kilbarger hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, saw the lead quickly disappear and the Bulldogs begin to pull away.

"We knew they were going to trap us and we were a little hesitant to score," coach Kristy Zajac said. "Nobody wanted to be the one to miss a layup or miss a shot. I told them we've got to attack it and look to score."

Once Tecumseh stopped worrying about missing, it couldn't, and the comeback was on.

Ashlyn Moorehead drew a foul and hit both free throws, 55-50, 98 seconds left. Makayla Schlorf got a steal and scored, 55-52, 60 seconds to go.

Chelsea split a pair of free throws to make it 56-52 and with 34.6 seconds left, Chloe Bullinger hit a 3-pointer and drew the foul, but missed the free-throw attempt to tie, 56-55.

After the Bulldogs split another pair of free throws, Schlorf came up with the shot of the night as Moorehead delivered a pass off a drive to the hoop and the sophomore buried a 3-pointer to put Tecumseh up 58-57.

"This was Makayla's first game back and she's only practiced with us for two days," Zajac said. "She has taken a shot in five weeks. We're so happy to have her back on the floor. She changes the game for us offensively and defensively. It was great to have her tonight."

Tecumseh wasn't out of the woods yet as senior and Marquette commit Leila Wells went to the free throw line with 8.6 seconds left.

But while Tecumseh got hot late, the Bulldogs went cold, especially at the free throw line, as she missed both and Tecumseh pulled down the rebound.

"I was thinking how we were going to comeback because I had a feeling she was going to make them," junior Alli Zajac said. "I knew my team was going to step up in some sort of way."

Zajac, who has a number of Division I offers of her own, got the ball and was fouled.

She didn't miss, sinking both and going over 1,000 points in process and giving Tecumseh the 60-57 victory.

"I couldn't have done it without my team," Alli said. "I couldn't do it without them, they mean so much to me."

The win was a long time coming Tecumseh as coach Zajac and company have been building toward this season.

Tecumseh has had its chances against the Bulldogs since the last win on Feb. 19, 2016, but haven't been able to keep up with the plethora of talent Chelsea has put on the floor.

That is until now.

Alongside Alli is her freshman sister, Addi, who in her first game against the Bulldogs posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with one block.

"She did a great job finishing," coach Zajac said. "Even with two girls on her, they needed two or three to box her out because she's tough inside. She was so tired, she doesn't ask to come out often, but she had to ask a couple times to get a breather because she was playing so hard."

Schlorf had 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal while Bullinger, who has had a phenomenal season, put up 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Alli also had 13 points and seven rebounds to go with an assist and a steal.

"We've been struggling depth wise," coach Zajac said. "We've had to play zone. Lauren (Kilbarger) played unbelievable defense tonight. She worked her butt off and super proud with how she played."

There was a lot to be proud of Tuesday for Tecumseh as it improved to 9-3 on the season and, for the first time in Zajac's seventh seasons as head coach, is in the driver seat of the SEC White at 3-0.

"These girls have busted their butt," coach Zajac said. "From Sundays to summers and the offseason, for every moment until we knocked down that shot, I couldn't be more proud. Even when we lost the lead, they never quit and believed we couldn't win the game."

The team couldn't be prouder to deliver the win for their coach.

"She scouts like no other," Alli said of her coach and mother. "She's up until like four in the morning scouting for us. She does so much for us. I'm so glad we got her this win."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh girls basketball comes back to beat Chelsea