Toward the end of a Class 1A Private quarterfinal matchup between the Hebron Christian Lions and St. Francis Knights, Lions sophomore guard Amiya Porter went down with a non-contact knee injury while missing a wide open lay-up. It didn’t look good as she was helped off the court, but seconds later she’d return to sink two free throws that turned out to be the difference in Hebron Christian’s 53-51 win in the Class 1A Private quarterfinals Wednesday.
The No. 4-ranked Lions (26-5) mark the third team from Region 5 to reach the semifinals, with top-ranked Holy Innocents’ and No. 5 Galloway the others. The Lions will play Galloway (18-9) 2 p.m. Friday at Buford City Arena.
The Lions beat Galloway 61-60 on Feb. 1 and 55-46 in the region tournament on Feb. 17.
With two minutes left and the Lions up 49-47, Porter cut to the basket and caught an outlet pass. After a few dribbles, she went up for a lay-up only to land awkwardly and crumple to the floor, where she stayed for several minutes while the game was stopped. She was eventually helped off the court and, with 47.9 seconds remaining, she returned with the game tied at 49.
Porter was fouled attempting a lay-up with 6.3 seconds left and the score tied at 51. She sank both free throws, with a Knights timeout after the first, to bring the score to its final margin.
On the Knights’ final possession, Desi Taylor dribbled across half-court and had her long 3-point attempt blocked as the buzzer sounded.
Now the Lions, who are the defending champions, are two wins away from another title.
“A lot of people doubted us because we graduated nine seniors,” Porter said. “So, it feels good to make it back to the final four.”
Before Porter’s free throws, it looked as though the Knights might pull out an unconventional — if not improbable — win.
Trailing 51-49 with 33.1 seconds left, Taylor hit the first of her 1-and-1 bonus free throws, missed the second but came down with the offensive rebound. She was fouled again, hit the first of her 1-and-1s to tie the game, missed the second and again St. Francis pulled down the offensive rebound. However this time, the Knights were called for traveling, which put an end to St. Francis’ run and set up Porter’s free throws.
“That is on us and our boxing out, and we’ve got to get better than that before we go into the final four,” said Lions coach Jan Azar, who is gunning for her 15th state championship. “We cannot allow them to have those possessions on free throws. That should have been our (rebound) three times.”
It was a close game from start to finish, with neither team leading by more than five at any point after the second quarter. The Knights led 13-11 after the first quarter and 29-25 at halftime. The Lions took a 38-37 lead with 2:11 in the third quarter on sophomore Gabriela Lowe’s 3-pointer and never trailed again.
The Lions were led by Jessie Parish (13 points), Porter (11) and Aubrey Beckham (10).
Now the Lions, a No. 2 seed, must beat No. 3-seed Galloway for a third time.
“They’ve got a really good team,” Azar said. “We’re going to go prepare and see if we can bring something different to the table.”
The No. 3 Knights finish as Region 6 champs with a 25-4 record, but fail to reach the semifinals after doing so in each of the past nine seasons. They had three double-digit scorers in Taylor (14), Trynce Taylor (13) and Sa’Mya Wyatt (10).
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