‘I’m glad we could get one for her’: Saukees grind out win in first game since Ramsey’s death

BARRY, Ill. — Taylor Graham had no doubt he got some heavenly help to allow his pivotal free throw to rattle in.

“It definitely felt like it,” Graham said. “To be honest, out of the hand, I thought I missed it.”

That free throw, which came with 13.6 seconds left and gave the Pittsfield boys basketball team a 47-43 lead over Western on Friday, bounced off every inch of the rim before it dropped and helped the Saukees seal a 49-43 win at the Western High School gym in their first game since the passing of Reese Ramsey, a standout freshman guard on the girls basketball team who was killed in a car accident on Tuesday.

“I’m glad we could get one for her,” said Graham, who led all scorers with 19 points.

Even Western coach Reece Dunker could not deny the notion that Graham, who had missed four straight foul shots and six of his seven in the fourth quarter prior to that make, had some help from Ramsey.

“I was shocked he missed so many free throws there at the end, but that’s what makes a good shooter is being able to forget about all the misses and make the one that counted there at the end,” Dunker said. “I have no doubt he had somebody looking over him for that last shot.”

The Saukees’ first-half effort that enabled them to jump out to a 24-8 lead and hold a 37-21 advantage at halftime would have made Ramsey proud, but Saukees junior guard Hayden Gratton said Ramsey would not have been pleased with the second 16 minutes.

“Definitely not the second half,” Gratton said. “She was probably yelling at us.”

The Saukees scored just 12 points in the second half and watched their lead dwindle to three on multiple occasions, but they never surrendered that lead. Graham’s free throw and two more by Gratton with 2.9 seconds left helped the Saukees put the game away.

Even though the finish was not pretty, Gratton said Ramsey would have appreciated the grit and resilience the Saukees showed in the closing minutes.

“To grind it out and get the win, I definitely feel like she’s proud,” said Gratton, who had 16 points.

The Saukees players, coaches and cheerleaders honored Ramsey with T-shirts emblazoned with a sketch of Ramsey holding a basketball in her left hand and her No. 15 on the back of her jersey. The words “Saukee Strong” were etched below Ramsey, and “Never Satisfied” was written over Ramsey’s right shoulder. The players rolled the waistbands on their shorts and wore wristbands in remembrance of Ramsey.

“It was really cool,” Graham said of the tributes. “I liked the wrist band. I felt pretty comfortable in it. It just felt good to play for her and get a win.”

Saukees coach Brad Tomhave said there was no question as to whether his team would play this game, noting that a certain someone would not have been happy if they didn’t play.

“She would have been mad at us if we didn’t play,” Tomhave said. “We tried to put a little piece of her in every one of our hearts.”

The welcome news just before tip-off regarding the other two Pittsfield girls basketball players involved in the wreck — freshman Lincoln McCartney and sophomore Deeghan Allen — made the night a little more special. McCartney was released from the hospital on Thursday and attended Friday’s game. Allen is still at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, but according to a Facebook post by Pikeland Community Unit School District 10 Superintendent Todd Fox, Allen walked unassisted Friday for the first time since the accident.

“I’m so glad the other two have gotten some good news,” Tomhave said.

Friday provided a time for remembrance, but it also provided the boys basketball players with an opportunity to, in Tomhave’s words, “be kids again.”

“They got a chance for an hour and a half, two hours, to play a game of basketball. That’s what was special about it,” Tomhave said. “Obviously, you want to play to win, but I just enjoyed watching them on the court and get to be 16- and 17-year-old kids again.

“This was the kids’ game. Hopefully they remember a lot of things about it. There’s nothing that they should ever forget. They get a chance to play basketball. They get a chance to play a game, and as we all know, we never know when that opportunity is going to be taken from you.”

Ramsey’s win-at-all-costs attitude and competitive spirit shone through on Friday and helped will the Saukees (8-16).

“It means a lot to be able to play for Reese and the other families,” Gratton said. “It means a lot, especially to get a win.”

Graham hopes Ramsey is beaming with delight that the Saukees won for her.

“She probably thinks we should have won by a little more,” Graham said. “I hope she’s proud.”