Schultz delivers as Saints sink Panthers with buzzer-beater
PICKFORD — With 5.1 seconds left, the St. Ignace Lady Saints had just enough time to set up their go-to scorer for the last shot.
Senior Ally Schultz got the ball near the corner off an inbounds pass from Mariana Zaragoza and then drove to the hoop and sliced between two defenders before launching a sprawling, two-handed underhand shot which went off the backboard and in just before the buzzer. That lifted the Saints to a 58-56 win over Pickford in a highly-competitive non-conference girls basketball game Wednesday night.
“Ally has made plays like that before,” St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls said. “She fell on the shot, but threw it up off the board and luckily it went in. I’m not even sure if she was able to see it go in since she fell to her knees. She made a shot like that in our last game too, but this time it was for the win.
“It was a heck of a game,” Ingalls said. “Hats off to Pickford. They played great on their home court and really made us earn everything. They are a team that really hustles and they have several very capable scorers. They are going to have a fun year. I was proud of both teams for the way they played tonight.”
Schultz, despite facing a box-and-1 defense most of the night, finished with a game-leading 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Jillian Fraser and Natalie Ryvolova added 14 points apiece for the Saints (6-2).
Pickford (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season but continued to show they are an ascending team. Kennedy Guild scored 18 points, Madison Thurmes had 17 points and Lizzie Storey added 14 points for the Panthers.
“I was proud of my girls for playing hard,” Pickford coach Christy Thurmes said. “They’re a little down right now but it was absolutely a great game, the type of competition we need. We’ll look back at some things we can do better and be an improved team in the long run.
“Schultz can score from anywhere on the court. We did everything we could to double team her and keep the ball out of her hands. She still got it and made the last shot, so credit to her.”
In a game that was close throughout, it was tied at 45 heading into the fourth quarter. On two occasions, the Panthers built 4-point leads in the fourth. The first came after back-to-back 3-pointers from Thurmes and Guild made it 51-47, and the second time was after a shot from Morgan Fox made it 53-49 with around 4:30 remaining.
But the Saints rallied, getting a 3-pointer from Fraser and a bucket in the post from Ryvolova as they took a 54-53 advantage with 2:25 left. Schultz added two free throws with 1:10 to play.
The Panthers came back to tie it, 56-56, with a 3-pointer from Storey with 45 seconds left.
That still left the Saints enough time to set up a final shot, and Schultz tried to drive. The Panthers nearly had a steal, but Zaragoza recovered the loose ball and the Saints called time out with 5.1 seconds left.
Still with time to reset, the Saints inbounded to Schultz, who scored the winning basket after driving into the lane just before time ran out. Game officials waited a few moments as both teams began to walk off the court, and then confirmed the shot did beat the clock and the game was over.
The game featured a matchup between teams ranked in the top five of the Upper Peninsula polls. The Saints came in at No. 4 in the U.P. Division 1-3 poll, while the Panthers are No. 3 in Division 4. Both teams showcased full-court pressure as well as some long range shooting, as they connected on eight 3-pointers on each side.
Both teams had their moments in the first half, with the lead changing hands five times. Panthers led 16-11 after the first quarter, before the Saints rallied to take a 32-31 lead into halftime.
The Saints’ newest player made a difference in the post. Ryvolova, a 5-foot-11 senior exchange student from the Czech Republic, played her first game. Not only did she score 14 points, Ryvolova also had seven rebounds.
“What a first game for Natalia,” Ingalls said. “She kept saying ‘I can do better, I can do better’ but I told her ‘You did great.’ She’s only been here for a few practices, so we don’t even know yet all the things she can do. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do once she gets some more time working with our team.”
While they had the lead for many stretches, fouls slowed the Panthers. Guild and Bennin both had three fouls by halftime and Bennin eventually fouled out with 3:19 remaining.
“Foul trouble hurt us,” coach Thurmes said. “We also had some turnovers towards the end, where we seemed to get too anxious at times. But they have no reason to have their heads down after a two-point game against St. Ignace. Our kids know they played well, but they can still play better. It’s only our sixth game, when we should have about 12 at this point in the season. We haven’t had many close games, so this helps us.”
Both teams return to conference games next. Pickford visits Rudyard, while St. Ignace goes on the road to Cheboygan Friday night.
St. Ignace 11 21 13 13 — 58
Pickford 16 15 14 11 — 56
St. Ignace — Dorenbecker 1, Seccia 5, Fraser 14, Ryvolova 14. St. Onge-Kissinger 2, Schultz 22. FT: 10-17; F: 13; 3-point field goals: 8 (Fraser 4, Schultz 3, Seccia 1).
Pickford — Thurmes 17, Bennin 4, Storey 14, Fox 1, Guild 18, Prucha 1, Potoczak 1. FT: 6-14; F: 20; Fouled out: Bennin; 3-point field goals: 8 (Guild 4, Thurmes 3, Storey 1).
Contact Sports Editor Rob Roos at rroos@sooeveningnews.com. Follow him on Twitter, @rroosTEN.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Schultz delivers as Saints sink Panthers with buzzer-beater
