“Finally,” ASD head coach Paul Kulick said. “In the last five years we have not made and in the last three we lost in the finals. This is off my back and I am so excited we won.”
The Lady Silent Warriors trailed 52-48 with 46.6 left in left in the game. Te’Chana Dunklin hit a jumper to cut the Lady Dragon’s lead down to 52-50 with 30 seconds left in the game. Marie Wheatley tied the game up at 52-52 with 23 seconds left.
FSD turned the ball over on after calling a timeout with 18.3 left to give ASD the basketball under their own goal. The Lady Silent Warriors missed their first few attempts, but the tournament MVP Dunklin was able to steal the ball out of the hands of FSD player and score a lay up to make it 54-52 with “11 seconds left in the game.
The Lady Dragons turned the ball over with eight seconds left in the game.
Duklin and Wheatley played keep away to prevent from being fouled and ran the clock out.
“Tuesdae did everything for our girls,” Kulick said. “She is a wonderful, amazing player.”
Kulick said his team remembered falling the last years in the finals at the buzzer and that motivated them to play hard until the final horn.
“We fought hard and tough,” Kulick said. “I am so happy that our girls didn’t give up, they kept playing until the time was out. They know the last few years that they have lost at the buzzer. You have to play hard for 33 minutes and the girls know they have to play the whole time.”
The ASD Lady Silent Warriors jumped out to a 6-2 lead to start the first quarter. FSD battled back to take an 11-10 with 2:02 left in the quarter. Dunklin scored three points to tie the game up at 13-13 going into the second quarter.
ASD opened the second quarter on an 11-5 run. Wheatley scored six points during the run to give ASD a 24-18 lead. Dunklin aggressively attack the basket late in the second quarter, which led to easy baskets. The senior scored five points to end the quarter. With 43.5 she missed a free threw, but Kaneesha Stallworth was there for the putback to make it 31-22 going into halftime.
Foul trouble allowed the Lady Dragons to get back into the game in the third quarter. Dunklin had to go to the bench with her four foul with four minutes left in the quarter. Dunklin’s back court mate Ashley Laster was also on the bench for ASD with foul trouble. The Lady Silent Warriors offense struggled to score and that allowed FSD to go
into the fourth quarter only trailing by seven points 39-32.
Jazzmine Washington scored 10 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter to help FSD take the lead. Washington and Von Burdsall were named to the All Tournament team.
ASD has three players to make the team, Tuesdae Dunklin, LaChana Dunklin and Stallworth earned All Tournament honors.
