After forcing a turnover at the other end of the court, Belgrade head coach Erin Nolte called time out Tuesday in the Belgrade Special Events Center.
With 23.9 seconds remaining and trailing by two, Nolte drew up a play in the huddle. The execution of that play, however, did not go as planned.
The Panthers never got the look they wanted and Sarah Gillihan eventually took a tough shot under the basket between a pair of defenders that never had a chance. Bozeman grabbed the rebound and then Tyra Opperman sealed the game on a free throw with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Bozeman’s Avery Burkhardt (25) battles Belgrade’s Hayli Milliron, left, and Sarah Gillihan for a rebound Tuesday night.
Dan Chesnet
“We were trying to run an on-ball screen. We were trying to pull it off, but kind of lost track of the time,” Nolte explained. “I’m not really sure what happened. It’s something we talked about in the locker room, executing something I draw on the board.”
Belgrade has not been in many close games and their lack of experience in that situation was evident in the 49-46 Eastern AA defeat. While it’s something Nolte said they’ll work on in practice, she also noted the late game defeat will serve as a teachable moment.
“Every time we have one of these close games it’s a learning opportunity,” said Nolte. “Right now those wins and losses don’t matter. It’s the ones at the end of the season that do matter. So we can learn every single game and take something away.”
What the Panthers did learn in the contest is that they have the ability to battle back from a big deficit. After Khloey Robinson scored the first points of the game, Bozeman went on a 17-2 run over the next 7 minutes, 34 seconds of the first quarter.
Avery Burkhart, a 6-1 forward, scored six of her eight points during that stretch, while Tailyn Black added four. The duo went on to combine for 24 points.
But Belgrade (1-10, 0-7 Eastern AA) rallied to get within five, 25-20, after opening the second quarter on an 11-3 run featuring a 3 by Robinson. Olivia Wegner closed out the first half with a pair of buckets and the Panthers trailed just 27-21 at the break.
Belgrade then outscored Bozeman 9-5 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 32-30. With each stop defensively, and then success at the other end offensively, the team’s confidence continued to grow.
“That’s something that we’ve kind of been talking about the whole season,” said Nolte. “We have been down once or twice by 13, so kind of continuing to fight through a deficit and kind of believing that there’s a possibility. That’s something that Liv (Wegner) kind of instills in us, that fight, and it’s starting to pay off.”
But every time Belgrade was about to tie the game or potentially take the lead, the Hawks managed to fend them off. Megan Schell and Black scored the first two buckets of the fourth quarter, and then Black drilled a 3 with 4:22 remaining after Hayli Milliron had drawn the Panthers within 38-36 on a pair of free throws.
Belgrade senior Olivia Wegner shoots a jumper in the paint Tuesday night against Bozeman.
Dan Chesnet
Bozeman (2-8, 2-5 Eastern AA) stretched the lead to eight, 45-37, with 2:52 to go, but Robinson buried a 3 to spark a 7-0 run as Belgrade closed to within a point, 45-44. Once again, the Hawks answered with a 3 by Opperman before Leila Mamangun cut it to 48-46 on a pair of free throws with 50.2 seconds remaining.
Black finished with a game-high 16 points, while Burkhart and Schell eight had eight. Robinson led the Panthers with 14.
Milliron also reached double figures for Belgrade, scoring a career-high 11. With juniors Kayla Meynders and Gillihan out of the lineup the past three weeks due to injury, the freshman had been the team’s lone remaining post and Nolte noted the positive strides she’s made.
“First time we played them Avery scored 12 points and had 20 rebounds with losing Sarah and Kayla, so she kind of became out sole person on the inside,” Nolte said. “Just how far she’s come in between three weeks of time … she wants to be a our person, she works hard.”
Belgrade returns to action Thursday hosting Billings West.
Bozeman 49, Belgrade 46
Bozeman 17 10 5 17 - 49
Belgrade 4 17 9 16 - 46
BOZEMAN (2-8) - Clara Fox 2 0-2 6, Megan Schell 4 0-0 8,Tyra Opperman 2 1-3 6, Tailyn Black 6 2-2 16, Monet Buerkle 0 0-2 0, Avery Burkhart 4 0-0 8, Ava Epler 20 4-11 49.
