ND GIRLS WIN SECTIONAL; EAST CARTER SEES STATE HOPES STALL 42-38

First-year East Carter County coach Steve Williams based his approach to the fourth quarter -- a stalling offense early in the period with a slim lead -- on a season's worth of experience.

But his Lady Redbirds' inexperience -- which at its most obvious was an 0 for 5 performance from the free-throw line in the final period -- nullified the move, making it look less than optimal to more than one viewer.

East Carter's self-inflicted wound allowed Notre Dame to come back in the final 40 seconds and sneak away with a thrilling 42-38 win in a Class 2A sectional game Wednesday at the Tiger Field House despite a sub-par performance.

Notre Dame advances to Saturday's quarterfinals at Mineral Area College where they will play Lutheran North, which defeated Valley of Caledonia 56-54 in sectional action Wednesday.

Leading 34-31 entering the fourth quarter, East Carter (20-5) pushed its lead to 38-33 on a shot inside by sophomore Kara Phillips with 3:57 left and looked to have the game in its control when it went to the deliberate, time-devouring offense.

But the Lady Redbirds, playing in their first sectional game in 12 years, couldn't hit a free throw when Notre Dame was forced to send them to the line. East Carter, which went 4-of-15 from the line for the game, didn't score in the final 3:57, and Notre Dame put together a season-ending 9-0 run.

"If we'd have made any free throws whatsoever, we win the game," said Williams. "It's really disappointing that we didn't win when we hand that game in hand. It's just a lack of experience; we normally shoot 64 or 65 percent from the free-throw line."

While East Carter missed the front-end of two one-and-one opportunities, Notre Dame (20-9) brought the game within a point with 1:35 left, 38-37, after Tracy Blattel hit a jumper and Rachael Schlosser made two from the line.

Up a point, the Lady Redbirds' Kacie Bradshaw, who had played well all night and led all scorers with 14 points, missed two free throws with 59 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame then went down the floor and Blattel scored after rebounding her own missed shot to put Notre Dame ahead, 39-38, for the first time since the 3:50 mark of the second quarter.

On the ensuing possession, East Carter missed a shot under the goal and Melissa Maurer collected the rebound, was fouled, and proceeded to hit both free throws with 18 seconds left to push the lead to 41-38. After East Carter missed a wild 3-point attempt to tie the game, Maurer hit another free throw with less than a second remaining for the final 42-38 margin.

"I just tried to relax, block (the big crowd) out of my mind, and put them in," said Maurer, a 5-foot-6 junior, of her game-clinching free throws. "I think we were a little worried (early in the fourth quarter) and we definitely didn't play a very good game."

"But being able to pull a win out when you're not playing your best takes as much heart as when you're playing well," added Maurer, who, along with Schlosser, led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points.

The game was tied at 8-8 entering the second quarter. A 9-0 run gave Notre Dame a 17-8 lead, but East Carter countered with a 13-0 run to give it a 21-17 lead at the break. While Notre Dame played well in short bursts, when East Carter was playing well it outplayed the Lady Bulldogs considerably.

"It was the ugliest game we've played all season," said Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim. "We have a tendency to sometimes go brain-dead out there on the floor. Well not really, but the kids seem to sometimes want to let down a little bit. They haven't been doing it lately, but tonight they reverted."

Grim said he thought East Carter shouldn't have gone to a stall so early in the fourth quarter.

"I (think it was a mistake). A three-point lead is one basket, and to me that's not enough to go to that stall," said Grim. "When you do you have to have the people on the line who can make the free throws, and they missed them."