Last-second free throws give JWCC women spark that ignites final push to victory

QUINCY — The spark that spurred the John Wood Community College women’s basketball team’s second-half run against Carl Sandburg College on Wednesday was just as effective as it was unusual.

With the Trail Blazers leading 62-60 in the waning seconds of the third quarter, Kylee Barry stole the ball from the Chargers’ Gabbie Vontz. Barry passed it to JWCC point guard Grace Deters, who fired up a last-second, three-quarter court heave. 

The ball only made it about halfway to the basket as Vontz fouled Deters on the arm, resulting in three free throws. Deters made all three foul shots, giving the Trail Blazers a five-point lead instead of two entering the final quarter.

“We knew we could get them rattled, and (Vontz) was one of the players we knew that we could,” Deters said. “We just used that as momentum.”

That sequence kickstarted a 7-0 JWCC run, and the five-point margin never shrunk to less than that. The Trail Blazers pulled away for an 84-74 victory.

“I felt like that really changed the momentum for us,” Trail Blazers guard Blair Eftink said.

Deters said she has been in Vontz’s shoes before, but she had never been fouled shooting that far away from the basket.

“I’ve fouled people shooting them, but I’ve never been fouled doing it,” Deters said.

JWCC coach Ali Schwagmeyer-Belger could only recall one other instance in which she has seen something like that.

“I played basketball for 26 years of my life, and I’ve probably seen that twice, including tonight,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “It was nice to have something go our way. We just executed off of that. Props to Grace for going 3 for 3 on those free throws.”

Just moments earlier, Deters’ peskiness helped give the Blazers the lead. With two minutes left in the third quarter and the Blazers trailing 55-54, Deters drained a mid-range jumper then in a flash stole the inbounds pass and made another jumper to give her four points in five seconds.

“My coach told me I needed to ‘D’ up because my team would drive off of that, and that’s what I did,” Deters said.

Deters was not the only Trail Blazer to turn in a hustle play at a critical juncture. With 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, Olivia Lawson missed a jump shot that would have extended the Blazers’ lead to 10, but she never gave up on the play. Lawson ripped the rebound away from Carl Sandburg’s Antonia Kisler near the baseline, spun around and found Maleigh Alexander for a layup.

“I was kind of upset that I missed the shot, so I had to make up for it,” Lawson said. “I tried to save it, it ended up working, and I got the assist to my teammate.”

While that play did not go in the scorebook as a rebound, Lawson had season-high 12 boards on Wednesday along with 15 points, four assists and three steals. She is averaging 12.6 points, 3.1 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game and has grabbed at least 10 rebounds on three occasions. 

“She’s just a freaking beast,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “She’s athletic. She’s just going to work her butt off, be an athlete, and she’s going to get the job done.”

That bulldog mentality combined with Lawson’s athleticism at 5-foot-8 translates to success on the glass.

“If somebody shoots the ball, I just want it and I go get it,” Lawson said. “I just want to outjump people. I think it’s fun.”

Deters led the Trail Blazers with 19 points, eight assists and four steals. The sophomore from Bowling Green, Mo., has 37 points, 22 assists and 15 steals in the last two games.

“Grace is really in her element right now,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said.

Eftink went 4 for 7 from 3-point range en route to 18 points. Eftink made two of those 3-pointers in the first 2 minutes, 30 seconds of the third quarter, both of which gave the Trail Blazers a lead.

“They were face-guarding Blair, and the nice thing about that is she didn’t stop playing,” Schwagmeyer-Belger said. “She let her defense do the talking until offensively, she started reading the defense. You’re going to chase me, you’re going to face guard me, I’ll let my teammate hit you on a down screen, I’m going to curl and come off those down screens as hard as I can.”

Eftink’s patience paid off.

“I had to be patient with my shots and just hit them when I was able to get them,” Eftink said. “I rely a lot on my teammates like Grace and Liv to drive which is one of their strengths, so I was telling them to come my way because there wasn’t as much help there.”

Teygen Sewell made five of her six shots and had 13 points. Barry had 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals, and Alexander had eight points in 12 minutes.

The Trail Blazers (4-5) will host Triton College and Olive-Harvey College on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the John Wood Town and Country Inn and Suites Classic.