Autumn Smith-Faulkner nearly unloaded her entire quiver of arrows at Mount Tabor in the first half of last night's Class 4-A sectional semifinal.
But Smith-Faulkner, a senior guard for Charlotte Mallard Creek, had one more left when it counted.
Smith-Faulkner's 23-foot 3-pointer with time running out -- her sixth 3 of the game -- lifted Mallard Creek to a 66-65 win and brought an early end to what was a banner Mount Tabor season.
"I gambled and it's my job in games like this," Coach Rick Anderson said, wondering if he should have had his players foul Smith-Faulkner. "You couldn't ask for any kids to play harder than we played. This one hurts more than any we have ever had."
The shot brought to the Spartans to their knees at the end of a second half in which they outplayed the athletic Mavericks enough to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit and take the lead with only seconds left.
Milessa Calicott took a pass from Shay Jones and drained a jumper from the left baseline with 14 seconds left to give the Spartans their first lead since the fourth quarter at 65-63.
After a timeout, the Mavericks inbounded the ball to Smith-Faulkner, who slowly dribbled the ball upcourt, took one step to her left behind a screen, and let the game-winning shot fly.
The Spartans inbounded to Jones, but her heavily contested shot from near midcourt was well short.
"We almost started to run a double (team) at her but if we did, we didn't want to leave (Candace Flowers) wide open because she hit a couple of 3s in the first half and we knew she could shoot as well," Anderson said. "I don't know how far out she was but it looked like she was pretty deep. When Milessa hit that shot, I thought it was over."
Smith-Faulker made 5 of her 8 3-point attempts in the first half and 6 of 14 for the game, and her final 3 -- the only one the Mavericks made in the second half -- gave her 23 points for the game. Mallard Creek (21-6) will play South Caldwell, a winner over Concord Robinson last night, in the West Sectional 1 championship game tonight.
Shay Jones, Mount Tabor's 5-5 senior guard, slashed her way to 25 points and fueled the second-half comeback for the Spartans, who finished 24-2.
When Brittany Tate and Calicott hit consecutive 3s midway through the first quarter, Mount Tabor led 14-7. But after a layup from Jones made the score 16-9, the Mavericks would run off the final 14 points of the quarter, and stretched the run to 18-0 early in the second quarter when Amber Neely's layup made it 27-16.
The Spartans continuously lost Smith-Faulkner in their zone defenses, and her fifth 3 of the first half, which beat the buzzer, made it 45-34.
But Jones, who has signed with Charleston Southern, took over in the second half. She scored 11 of her 17 second-half points in the third quarter and made two free throws with 3 seconds left as Mount Tabor closed to 53-51.
Calicott tied the score with 1:13 left with two free throws, and then grabbed the rebound after a Mallard Creek miss to give the Spartans the ball with 52 seconds left. But on the inbound, Smith-Faulkner stole a pass and made an easy layup for a 63-61 lead.
Jones answered quickly with a drive and layup to tie the score at 63, and after a Mallard Creek miss, Calicott's jumper gave the Spartans a 65-63 lead before Smith-Faulkner's final shot.
"I tell you, I debated to foul, and I debate it now even more to foul her and not give her the chance to shoot the 3," Anderson said. "But then you go to the line and their best shooters got the basketball and if you foul her she shoots two uncontested shots to tie it and go into overtime. Maybe that's better than a loss."
Calicott, a sophomore, finished with 19 points for the Spartans. Candace Flowers scored 14, Kia Funderburk scored 12, and Mimi Benson scored 14 and pulled down 17 rebounds for Mallard Creek.
Mallard Creek 23 22 8 13 -- 66
Mount Tabor 16 18 17 14 -- 65
Mallard Creek (21-6): Neely 2, Benson 14, Flowers 14, Smith-Faulkner 22, Tarver 2, Funderburk 12
Mount Tabor (24-2): Jones 25, Tate 6, Calicott 19, Oglesby 2, Doran 5, Penley 8
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