Emma Wardlow nets 1,000th point; Lady 'Cats force OT with 3 players

BAINBRIDGE — The whistles of the officials couldn’t drown out the noise from fans of the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats throughout their game on Thursday night.

First, there was senior Emma Wardlow netting her 1,000th career point in the third quarter. There was the fact the Lady ’Cats forced overtime with just three players on the court, trailing by seven points with under 3:00 to go. Finally, there was the fact once the overtime was complete, WHS had just one player on the court, compared to five for the host Paint Valley Lady Bearcats.

Don’t think PV was getting “the calls” their way either, because that wasn’t the case. PV just had a deeper bench to put on the court when foul trouble began for them, and WHS had a total of eight players eligible to play in what amounted to an 85-74 overtime loss at PVHS.

Although there were a total of 58 fouls called combined for both squads, the non-conference game still had exciting moments that kept fans on their feet for a majority of the fourth quarter and overtime.

“I told the girls we had a special play, and it was called three-on-five,” WHS head coach Randy Abbott said with a laugh. “All I told them was we were playing on all heart. When you are three vs. five … we did get ahead of their press, we had open shots and chances.

“The girls kept fighting … whatever the calls were, they were, but we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. We didn’t get our hands up on the threes, and we let them get by and played subpar in the first half, then we got into foul trouble and it buried us. To the team … even on the bench, they could have hung their heads, but they were up cheering and they were coaching too. It was a very teachable moment.”

The biggest moment of celebration came in the third quarter with 7:00 on the clock as Wardlow become the latest Lady Wildcats player to reach the 1,000th career point scoring plateau, sinking the 1,000th point on the second of two free-throw attempts, which put WHS ahead 36-35. Wardlow finished the game with 26 points.

To add to her spotlight night, she was the lone player left on the court in the overtime period for the Lady ’Cats as the rest of the roster had earned five fouls or ran out of quarters for the night, with the final foul of the game called with 1.7 seconds left on the OT scoreboard with PV having a nearly double-digit lead at the time.

Following the game, Wardlow spoke about the career milestone.

“It is awesome, and I don’t know how to explain it,” Wardlow said of scoring 1,000 points thus far in her career. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, all my coaches throughout the years, and especially with my family and the support I have. Being in the gym with my dad before every practice … again, I couldn’t have done this without my family’s support.”

Wardlow also spoke about being the last player left for her team on the court and forcing overtime with just three players against five.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen to me before, maybe since the fifth grade, and it wasn’t me who was left on the court alone then,” she said with a laugh. “It was interesting having three against five … we played with heart.”

The game got really interesting with around 2:49 left in the fourth frame when the Lady Wildcats were left with just three players in Wardlow, Ashleigh Harless and Maggie Carr, then trailing by a 68-61 score. Carr ended the game with 18 points, and Harless scored 14 points.

From there, Carr sank a basket with 2:02 left in regulation, and Harless scored on a fast break for two points, getting to within three points of tying the score at 68-65 with 1:37 left in regulation.

After the two points, WHS forced a turnover with 1:31 on the clock, and Carr got the Lady ’Cats to within one point of tying the score with 1:19 on the scoreboard by making two free throws. WHS, again, forced a turnover with aggressive defense under the hoop by Wardlow at the 46.7 mark of the fourth, but then a jump ball was called on the ensuing possession.

Following a foul called on WHS, PV missed two free throws with 40 seconds left, and another jump ball was called on the rebounds, giving WHS possession. Wardlow proceeded to take the ball the length of the court and draw a foul in the paint with 30.5 reading on the scoreboard.

Though neither free throw went through the hoop for WHS, PV later regained possession of the ball to take a 70-67 lead with 22.1 seconds remaining in regulation following two more free throws by Lexi Woods, who finished with a career-high 45 points for the Lady Bearcats. Woods finished 17-of-23 from the free-throw line and made four 3-pointers and eight two-point field goals. She also had 13 rebounds for a double-double.

With time winding down, Wardlow returned to the free-throw line, where she made one-of-two shots from the stripe, bringing WHS to within two points of tying PV at 70-68. After being fouled, PV added another point with a foul shot, but WHS was there to answer that when Wardlow took the ball the length of the court for a layup, followed by a quick foul from Harless to put the Lady Bearcats on the line.

PV missed the ensuing free throws, as Harless grabbed the rebound, raced down the court and was fouled with 2.4 seconds left in regulation. Harless forced overtime with a free-throw conversion, tying the score at 71-71.

In overtime, WHS was outscored 14-3, as they had two more players foul out, being down two players with 17.3 left in the contest and then to one with 1.7 on the clock.

“Our legs were going away late, and it was just too little, too late, as far as players and scoring,” Abbott said. “We may never see something like that again. I hope we don’t on our side again, but I don’t know how you give enough credit to the girls for how they played and came back.”

Abbott said the team wanted to get the win for Wardlow on her milestone night.

“We really wanted to get this win for her,” he said. “This team will get there and keep improving … we are getting better, but we have to be a more disciplined team. We can’t have moments with lapses, but I’m very proud of them.”

The game for the first three quarters of regulation was closely contested with the score tied 16-16 following the first eight minutes, and by the time halftime rolled around, PV led, 33-31. Even after three quarters, the Lady Bearcats led by four points at 52-48.

By the time the game was complete, PV head coach Regina Newland said she was “speechless” after the game she coached.

“This game was one of a kind,” she said. “You will probably never experience another game like this one. I’m speechless … I really don’t know what to say. It was a bizarre game, it really was. It is tough to play when you have that many fouls. We had girls in foul trouble as well … luckily I have 14 on the bench, so I had a lot more depth I could go to.

“Whiteoak played hard, they really did.”