3-point buzzer-beater stuns Falcons

DENVER—The Falcons had opportunities. They had opportunities at the free throw line; however, by only hitting 2-of-8 in the final quarter, they left the door wide open for the Lamar Savages, who stunned the Falcons with a 3-point buzzer beater that sunk through the nylon just as the backboards at the University of Denver’s Hamilton Gymnasium glowed red.

The Falcons, who held the lead except for a small grazing moment in the first quarter, led 23-20 entering the final quarter. The Falcons and Savages battled on several occasions looking for an upper hand in the boxing match. However, neither team got it.

The Falcons went to the free throw line five times and they had eight opportunities to score, but only two by Caroline VanBerkum went through. In between the free throw was a 3-pointer by Cassie Forge to give the Falcons a 2-point lead, 25-23.

With just over four seconds left a foul was committed and Ember Canty was at the free throw line. She was unable to hit the front end of the 1-and-1 and the rebound came off to a surprised Brecken Payn. Payn then found a streaking Clark who put the shot up just before the buzzer sounded, even though she was pressured by the Falcons defense. The shot went through to give the 1-point loss to the Falcons.

Centauri, trailed 7-4 after the first quarter, rallied back and took a 15-11 lead at the halftime break. Lamar then hit two quick field goals to tie the game at 15 before the final quarter.

Centauri connected on 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the field while Lamar went 9-of-42 (21.4 percent). The Falcons were only able to hit one 3-pointer, off the hand of Kyree Huffaker, while the Savages hit 4-of-17 (23.5 percent). In the game Centauri was 8-of-20 (40 percent) from the free throw line while Lamar was 4-of-9 (44.4 percent).

Canty led the way for the Falcons by scoring 10 points while Van Berum scored seven. The Savages were led by Cali Clark and Brenna Vallejos who each scored nine.

Centauri will now play for third place at noon on Saturday.