With just over three minutes left in the Class 4A Sectional 11 championship game, Pike coach Keith Hollins called timeout with his team facing an eight-point deficit to Franklin Central.
The game had seen wild momentum swings and Hollins was hoping for one more for his home-standing Red Devils.
“I told the girls ‘this is our court and to not let anyone take this from you. You have three minutes and this is what you’ve worked for all year.’”
Central Indiana scores, stats:Indiana high school girls basketball sectionals
What Hollins said resonated as Pike rallied with an 11-2 run, capped by a jumper by sophomore Komari Booker with :35 left that gave the Red Devils a 61-60 win.
As is typical of contests best described as vintage tournament basketball, Booker’s basket hardly ended the drama. In those final 35 seconds, both teams missed a pair of free throws, while Pike committed a turnover with six seconds left that gave the Flashes one last opportunity.
That opportunity came up short as FC’s Lily Graves missed a long 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded.