It was a tight game all the way through for the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs in their district final at Waverly High School Saturday afternoon – but in the last three seconds of a pulse-pounding overtime period, LCHS senior McKayla Binkley sank a 2-point shot that earned the Lady Mustangs a win against the Fairland Lady Dragons, their second consecutive district title and a slot in the Sweet 16.
The Mustangs shot 7 of 17 for 41 percent from the freethrow line. McKayla Binkley led with 24 points.
The first quarter had both teams battling for the bucket. Peyton Scott put up a 2-point shot and three freethrows in the quarter, while McKayla Binkley tossed in two 2-pointers and Hannah Binkley put up a two. By the buzzer, the scoreboard showed 13-11 with Lynchburg in the lead by 2.
Fairland’s Alesha Simpson started the third quarter out with a 13-13 tie, but McKayla Binkley tossed a three that put the lead back into the Mustangs’ hands. The lead changed two more times before the quarter finished out, with Fairland keeping the Mustangs at an 11 -point gain while making 18 for themselves. McKayla Binkley led scoring for the Mustangs with a 3-pointer, a 2-pointer and one from the freethrow line.
By the half, the Fairland had taken a 1-point lead with 25-24 on the scoreboard.
The lead changed three times in the first five minutes of the third quarter, with both teams scoring low. Lynchburg managed 7 points between Lexi Waits and the Binkley sisters while they kept Fairland at 5.
By the buzzer, the third-quarter score was 33-30 with Lynchburg back on top by 3.
After another frenzy of lead changes and ties throughout the fourth quarter, the Lynchburg ladies found themselves down by 3 with only seconds to go. In the knick of time, McKayla Binkley tossed a three that brought the teams to a 49-49 tie and sent the game into overtime.
The Binkley sisters were the sole scorers for the Mustangs in OT. After two lead exchanges, the teams were deadlocked at 56-56 with 45 seconds to go. The stands were roaring as the clock drained, and finally, with three seconds on the clock, McKayla Binkley put up the two that ended the game.
“When we were down by three, we knew we had to get up a good shot. Didn’t quite execute the way we wanted, came down and needed a shot, and McKayla was there to do it,” said Lynchburg head coach Whitney Lewis. “Our defensive pressure is really our team’s success. I thought we did a really good job of that today… I’m super proud of the girls for executing that way. We ran through our offense and got some good looks. These kids, they don’t like to lose. They’ve had success for a long time, and they didn’t want this game to end for various reasons. They’re looking forward to making it to regionals.”
Summary
Lynchburg-Clay — 13 11 7 16 9 — 58
Fairland — 11 14 5 19 7 — 56
LCHS: Fittro 1(1)-5; Waits 2-4; Scott 2-5/7-9; H. Binkley 6(1)-1/6-16; M. Binkley 7(3)-1/4-24
Totals: 18(5)-7/17-58
FHS: Marhsall 1(2)-3/4-11; Wilson 5(1)-13; Chapman (2)-2/2-8; Warnock 1(3)-0/1-11; Simpson 4-1/4-9; Wagner 2-0/1-4
Totals: 13(8)-6/12-56
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.
