With momentum in their favor, the visiting Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther B girls had possession on the Clipper side of the court and the score deadlocked at 35 with less than a minute remaining in the second half.
But Valentina Rohlfing stole at half court and ran in a layup (above) to put the Clippers in front by two.
Rohlfing stepped over the line on her ensuing foul shot, but the Clipper defense kept the Jaguars at bay for the remaining 34 seconds, and, 20 seconds later, Hadley Thompson sunk a free throw to put the finishing touches on the 38-35 triumph.
The Tuesday win was the third for the B Clippers.
The Clippers were never behind. Rohlfing bounced a pass to Ava Kluntz, who, poised, under the iron, hoisted it for the game’s first basket and the start of a 10-point Clipper run. Taylor Wolf stole at midcourt and scored on a layup, Natalie Flowers did the same, and Wolf repeated for three-straight Clipper baskets. Later, Rohlfing drove from shore to shore and dumped in a basket.
It looked like it might be a lopsided win, but, with the Clippers off target, the Jags regrouped, sprinted in a layup, bagged a three, sunk a jumper and put in another layup to pull within a point, 10-7.
Rohlfing plunged in a three to halt the rally, and Wolf scored from a distance. The Jaguars put in a shot from the baseline, but Allie Anderson’s basket put the Clippers in front 17-11 at the break.
The Clippers went on another run early in the second half. It started when Wolf took an inbounds pass up and in for a bucket. Flowers followed up with three-straight buckets for a 27-15 Clipper advantage.
But the Jaguars posted 11 of the next 13 points to close their gap to three. Anderson drove for a couple of buckets, and Wolf hauled in an offensive rebound and scored, but the Jags kept pace and, at the 1:10 mark, plopped in a bucket from behind the arc for a 35-35 tie before Rohlfing scored the game winner.
After Thompson’s free basket, the Clippers made another trip to the foul line but missed. Anderson snared a long pass to put the dagger in the Jaguar's plan to attempt a last-second three.
With a dozen points, Wolf led the Clipper offense. Flowers added 10 points, Rohlfing totaled seven, and Anderson put in three buckets for six total points. Kluntz put in a basket before she exited the game at halftime. Thompson chipped in a free throw.
The Clippers were successful in a lackluster five of 21 foul shots. The Jaguar put in three threes and two of four free throws.
The B Clippers return to action on Friday when they travel to Sherburn to take on Martin County West.
Ava Kluntz poises for a shot from under the rim.
Natalie Flowers races the ball down court.
Taylor Wolf looks for an open teammate.