Davis' buzzer-beating 3 lifts Rolling Meadows over Prospect
Nicole Davis will never forget the final Mid-Suburban League East game of her sophomore season.
With time running out and Rolling Meadows down by 1 point, fans got to see Davis take a pass from senior Bridget Rolla behind the 3-point line.
Seconds later, fans couldn't see Davis at all.
That's because her teammates rushed the floor to celebrate Davis' dramatic 3-pointer at the buzzer that lifted the Mustangs to a 33-31 triumph over Prospect at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.
Davis ended up on the bottom of the pile.
"It felt great," said Davis after her first game-winning shot at any level of her career. " My teammates just came out and tackled me."
The big shot came 47 seconds after junior Eliot Dojutrek hit a big 3-pointer to give the Knights a 31-30 lead.
Meadows then had began its longest offensive possession of the game.
It included two timeouts by Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky, two missed 3-pointers, two big rebounds by Emily Galvin and Susannah Holifield and finally the big assist from Rolla to Davis.
"I got a kick out pass," Rolla said. "Then I drove and was looking for my shot. But I saw everyone collapsing on me. Then I saw Nicole was wide open. We trust her to hit that shot and she did."
"I knew my team was energetic the whole game," Davis aid. "When I got the ball I knew I had to knock it down."
The win ended a three-game losing streak for Meadows (13-10, 5-5) while Prospect (11-12) finished 3-7 in the East.
The Knights trailed 20-10 with 2:38 left in the second quarter but didn't give up a point until Rolla hit a free throw with 6:05 left in the fourth quarter, ending a 15-0 run.
Rolla led RM with 10 points while Galvan had nine, including a big 3-pointer with 1:23 left that gave Meadows a 30-28 lead.
"It was just a good team effort and one of those games where we were fortunate to get that last basket to go down," Kirkorsky said.
Rolla scored 7 of her 10 points in the final period.
"Bridget kind of willed us to the win in the second half," Kirkorsky added. "Obviously we're without (guard) Madi (Niedbala, who was ill) and we got a little shaky when Susannah (Holifield) went out for a while (foul trouble) but I though Colleen Cox came in and gave us some good minutes.
"I also thought Kelsey (Campbell) gave us good minutes starting in Madi's place as did Emily Galvan and Alison (Sellergen). It was just a team effort - just one of those games where we fortunate to get the last bucket to go down."
Dojutrek (11 points) and Andie Will (10) led Prospect.
"We had some easy misses, and missed some free throws," said Prospect coach Marie Baker, whose seniors Ellen Sherwood, Olivia Accardi, Jolene Neuhalfen and Sarah Skaggs played their last home game. "We've just got to keep playing the games on our schedule. We go to Mundelein on Saturday.
"Jenna Acosta (5-foot-10 junior forward who had 5 points) did a great job. She has been working real hard at practice, really focusing on having position inside and she was able to perform. I was really glad to see her have that opportunity."