Glenwood misses last-second shot, falls in state title game

On a night where baskets came at nothing short of a premium, the Glenwood Lady Gators still had one last chance with 12 seconds left in Monday’s AISA Class 3A state title game.

After trailing Tuscaloosa Academy for virtually the entire game, Glenwood (23-7) needed only two points after an inbound on its side of the court. The play was slow to develop, and as the seconds ticked by the Lady Gators went from in-contention to near-desperation.

Crowded with nearly no time to spare, Quan Holton hurled a shot toward the basket. The ball bounced off the glass, hitting the ground just as the final buzzer signaled a 27-25 loss for Glenwood.

“The bottom line is we didn’t shoot the ball very well. We played good enough on defense to win the ball game,” Glenwood coach Julie Humphries said. “I’m extremely proud of my kids. They fought until the end, and they gave me everything they had.”

Holton finished her high school career with 10 points and three rebounds. She along with Morgan Grant, who had 9 points, were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Glenwood’s last-ditch effort to once again finish the season as champions truly began with 1:09 to go in the fourth, when Grant’s free throws left Tuscaloosa Academy’s lead at 27-25. Tuscaloosa Academy (24-2) drained the clock but couldn’t stretch its lead, eventually surrendering possession on a jump ball with 21 seconds remaining.

Shortly after an inbound, Humphries opted for one final timeout to reset, which set up the scramble in the last dozen seconds.

There were numerous possessions throughout the game that loomed large down the stretch. Shots that normally were sure-thing points for Glenwood rolled and ricocheted off the mark, leaving the players flustered but not yet defeated. The near-misses early on nearly put Glenwood out of contention and in hindsight foreshadowed Holton’s last-second heave.

“The shots just didn’t fall, for whatever reason,” Humphries said. “It was just one of those nights.”

From the opening tip, the Lady Gators struggled to appear anything but off.

The Glenwood players seemed tense in the opening of the winner-take-all, as overthrows and off-the-mark passes led to six turnovers in the game’s opening quarter. By comparison, Tuscaloosa Academy was also inconsistent shooting the ball, but its rebounding advantage bailed the Lady Knights out time after time.

Leading 7-3 to start the second quarter, Tuscaloosa Academy controlled the pace of play by slowing down possession after possession. Tuscaloosa managed one of very few scoring streaks in the first half courtesy Kelsey Curry, whose consecutive shots from inside the arc turned a tie game into a 13-7 Lady Knight advantage.

Curry had 11 points and was the game’s Most Valuable Player.

The slow tempo continued through a third in which each team managed four points. Though a frantic fight through the fourth quarter developed, the lack of points remained right along with it.

Despite the losing effort, Humphries remained nothing but positive about her team. This was, after all, Glenwood’s fifth consecutive trip to the state title game. The loss, Humphries explained, can serve as a teachable moment to each player.

The defeat surely stings now, but in Humphries’ perspective, it should be nothing but a speed bump for everyone involved.

“The game of basketball teaches us way more than just basketball,” Humphries said. “If my kids can take this one step, see this failure and try to learn from it, they’re going to be better people.

“I promise you, Glenwood will be back. It’ll be OK.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Glenwood misses last-second shot, falls in state title game."