Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Paige O’Bryant did anything and everything to ensure her team would come out on top on Thursday evening.
After Waverly built a 13-point lead early, Miami Trace slowly crept back and chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to as low as one point with 53.9 seconds left.
A comeback win for the Panthers looked like a strong possibility.
But O’Bryant didn’t let that happen.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
To cap off a 25-point, 18-rebound showing, the 5-foot-11 junior scored seven points from the charity stripe in the final minute and made a key defensive stop to seal a 67-64 win for the Tigers.
“[O’Bryant] is so special. She does so much for us as a team, whether it’s blocked shots, grabbing rebounds, scoring, or hitting free throws when we need her to. She makes plays when we need her to make plays,” Waverly coach John Bonifield said. “I don’t know if I have enough verbs or adjectives to describe Paige O’Bryant. She’s as great of a person as she is a basketball player and an athlete here at Waverly. She knows when it’s her time to step up and make a play, and she did that numerous times tonight.”
The night had O’Bryant’s name on it from the start.
Waverly (4-3) got up and down the floor quickly in transition and allowed O’Bryant to go to work as she put up 11 points in the opening frame. Sadie Royster and Taryn Gillott also connected from beyond the arc, propelling the Tigers to a 22-9 lead after one quarter.
Miami Trace (4-5) didn’t make things easy on the Tigers, however.
On defense, the Panthers slowed the tempo and forced several Waverly turnovers. To add insult to injury, Waverly was held to just four points in the frame — all of which came from the free throw line. Miami Trace took advantage of the Tigers’ offensive woes and cut the deficit to 26-20 as both teams went into the locker rooms.
Waverly knew it needed to come out of the break swinging.
And while O’Bryant still went back to work in the second half, she had some help from her teammates to take the pressure off her shoulders.
On Waverly’s first possession, O’Bryant found a wide open Sadie Royster in the corner, who knocked down a triple to extend the lead to 29-20. Then, after a Miami Trace bucket, Caris Risner drove to the basket and drew a foul. From there, she knocked down both shots to make it a 31-22 advantage.
“Going into the year, we talked about how we’re going to rely on [O’Bryant, Royster, and Risner] as our leaders. They’re the ones who are our engine for our whole team,” Bonifield said. “They’re the ones who are returning starters and they’ve played many minutes over the years. We like our odds when those three can get going. It takes the pressure off a little, because if one of them is having an off night, someone else can step up. But when those three get going, we’re dangerous.”
Whenever Miami Trace fought back, Waverly had an answer. And, after Royster knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 45-35 late in the quarter, it looked like Waverly had a chance to run away with it.
But, on the final offensive possession for Miami Trace, Addyson Butts grabbed an offensive rebound and went up strong for two points as the buzzer sounded, cutting the deficit to 45-37 heading into the fourth.
In the blink of an eye, Miami Trace was up off the mat, and continued to throw everything it had at the Tigers.
Led by the two-headed monster of Ellie Robinette and Gracie Lovett, the Panthers stormed back into the game, cutting the deficit to 57-54 with 1:45 left.
With her team’s back against the wall, O’Bryant’s late-game heroics began to take place.
After a missed free throw, Miami Trace grabbed an offensive rebound and went back for more. But Addyson Butts’ put-back attempt was swatted away and picked up by O’Bryant, who took the ball the length of the floor before scoring to extend the lead to 59-54.
Miami Trace still refused to back down as Lovett and Robinette chipped in on consecutive possessions, trimming Waverly’s lead back down to 60-59 with only 53.9 seconds remaining.
But, knowing Miami Trace would try to foul, O’Bryant made sure that she was the one who got sent to the stripe every time.
The junior answered the call every time, knocking down seven free throws in the remaining time to put the game on ice. O’Bryant would also put an exclamation point on the night with 28.3 seconds left, rejecting Miami Trace’s shot with her team already ahead 64-59.
Lovett knocked down a 3 for Miami Trace as the final buzzer sounded. But it was far from enough as O’Bryant’s efforts had sealed a 67-64 win for the Tigers.
“I’m proud of the way we handled adversity. We responded every time [Miami Trace] made a run. We got people in foul trouble and had people playing minutes in crunch time that don’t normally get those minutes,” Bonifield said. “One through ten, it was a total team effort. I’m just proud of the people that, when their number was called, they stepped up and gave us the minutes we needed to finish off this ball game.”
Following O’Bryant on the scoresheet was Royster, who finished with 18 points. Risner ended the night with 17 points along with seven rebounds and three assists.
Miami Trace was led by Robinette, who finished with 21 points and seven boards. Lovett was right behind, finishing with 20 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists. Ryleigh Vincent also contributed with 15 points and five boards.
The Panthers won’t have to wait long for a shot to get back in the win column. They go back to work on Saturday with a trip to Washington for FAC Rivalry Day.
Meanwhile, Waverly will get some time off, not returning to action until Dec. 28 when it travels to Southeastern.
“More people got minutes tonight, so we know we’ve got some depth on the bench. We have people that got clutch minutes in crucial time. Now, we’re not afraid to go to our bench and it makes us a deeper, stronger team,” Bonifield said. “It maybe gives Paige, Sadie and Caris a little bit more of a break. Looking forward, we play a lot of schools that are going to prepare us for our league, and eventually, for tournament time. We know Miami Trace is going to win a ton of games, they’re a solid team. But we’re going to take a few days off, get healthy, and get healthy before we get ready for our next game.”
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