Phillips Nets GW Layup for Tyler
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NEW MARTINSVILLE -- On a night where buckets were hard to get for both teams, Tyler Consolidated's Caleigh Phillips wouldn't be denied when it mattered most.
In a tie game, the senior 5-foot-7 guard ripped the ball away from a Magnolia player with 10 seconds remaining before running the length of the court and dropping in the game-winning layup with 5 seconds left to lift Tyler over host Magnolia, 33-31 on Friday night.
"Caleigh is the heart of the team," Tyler coach Tom Phillips said. "Her and Lauren Templeton have been here for four years and they have played since they were freshmen. The rest of them have rallied around her. She is quick and she does well for us on defense.
"The way we shot (Friday) I thought we were going to go to overtime but she has led the Little Kanawha Conference in steals every year with almost 100 and she is on that pace again."
Both teams were having trouble getting shots to fall as the two combined for just eight made field goals in the second half and Tyler shot just 12 of 25 from the free throw line in the win.
"Magnolia always plays us tough," Coach Phillips said. "It doesn't matter what our records are. This is a tough place to win and to come out with a win with as many foul shots as we missed, that's a big deal for us."
The Silver Knights held a 28-25 edge after three quarters but Magnolia's Lauren Gaiser drained a 3 to even the score with 6:42 to play.
The game went without another score until the 3:21 mark when Jenna Blain dropped in the go-ahead points for the Blue Eagles.
Tyler's Lauren Templeton knotted the game with a bucket and teammate Landry Buchanan delivered a free-throw for a narrow one-point lead with 1:47 to go.
Blain came through again for Magnolia as she connected on a shot from the charity stripe to create a 31-31 deadlock with 40 seconds remaining.
Then, after a shot by Tyler's Juliana Lattea rimmed out, Magnolia secured the rebound with hopes of one last game-winning shot. However, Phillips had other plans as she recorded the steal and the bucket to send the Silver Knights home happy.
"It's good to get going with a win like this," Coach Phillips said. "We have another good game next week against Cameron. It doesn't get any easier for us."
Buchanan and Lauren Templeton each paced Tyler with 10 points, while Phillips turned in eight.
Blain and Gaiser each finished with nine points for Magnolia.
"The girls played very hard but until we start doing the little things right -- that's getting rebounds, making open layups and not forcing shots -- we're going to have a hard time trying to find wins on our schedule," Magnolia assistant coach Joe Asturi said. "We're hoping that playing teams like Parkersburg Catholic, St. Marys, Ritchie County and Linsly help us build to get better.
"We're only starting one senior so we are young. We have to replace Mady Winters and while we miss her points, we mostly miss her leadership."