ORAN GIRLS END SCC's DISTRICT REIGN

ADVANCE -- Oran High's Maria Eftink had one thought on her mind Thursday night as she went to the free-throw line with .4 seconds left in a tie game with Scott County Central.

"I hope it goes in," recalled Eftink.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore got her wish and Oran had its first-ever district championship in girls basketball.

Eftink, after being fouled while grabbing a defensive rebound, swished both ends of a pressure-packed one-and-one situation to lift the second-seeded Lady Eagles past top-seeded Scott County Central 47-45 in the finals of the Class 1A, District 2 Tournament.

Oran, now 15-9, advances to 1A Regional play Monday night in Sikeston. Scott Central, which had dominated the district for most of two decades, finished at 15-10.

"It's exciting, especially when you're down 10 points and able to come back against a team like Scott County Central," said Oran coach Tom Anderson.

The Lady Eagles actually trailed 41-30 entering the fourth quarter. But they outscored the Bravettes 17-4 in the final period, thanks in large part to Scott Central's woeful performance from the free-throw line.

While Oran hit an impressive 10 of 13 from the charity stripe in the game, Scott Central made just four of 18 attempts, including two of eight in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore guard Ani Lange hit two big 3-pointers for Oran in the final period, the second bringing the Lady Eagles to within 42-41 with 4:17 left.

Sara Heisserer's 15-footer with 57 seconds left pulled Oran into a 45-45 tie. That set the stage for Eftink's heroics.

"It's a good feeling for the team," said Eftink. "We're definitely going to do some celebrating."

Heisserer, a 5-11 senior, led Oran with 18 points. Eftink added 14.

"We got big plays from a lot of people," Anderson said. "Heisserer hit some clutch baskets, Eftink made four big free throws (in the fourth quarter) and Lange hit the two big threes."

Scott Central got 17 points from Vontrice Blackmon, 15 from Brandy Miller and 10 from Lekeya Turner.

"Even though we had the lead, we never really could get going," said Scott Central coach Semona Penrod. "We were pretty sluggish the whole game."