Giddings up for Rockets: Freshman’s late shot dooms Newman
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| Rock Falls’ Roni Chesnek grabs a rebound Tuesday during the Rockets’ Sauk Valley Shootout victory against Newman. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@svnmail.com) |
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ROCK FALLS – Jordan Giddings’ memory failed her Tuesday night, but her shot was just fine.
The Rock Falls freshman’s bank shot with 6 seconds left in overtime lifted the Rockets to a 47-45 win against Newman on the second day of the Sauk Valley Shootout.
“The pass came to me, and I just shot it over everybody,” Giddings said. “I honestly don’t remember what happened after that.”
What happened was the Rockets’ second straight win, secured after Newman guard Sarah Cesarek’s 30-footer at the buzzer caromed off the backboard and front rim as the buzzer sounded.
“Most of these girls haven’t won a game like this, against a team like this,” Rock Falls coach Craig Mammosser said. “I’d say the celebration in the locker room was about halfway to a state championship.”
Giddings’ winning shot was set up by guard Paige Last, who drove the left side of the lane, drew Giddings’ defender and bounced the ball to the 6-foot-1 post player. Giddings put the ball high over her head and banked it over two recovering Comets.
“We kind of fell apart on that last play,” said Newman junior Brianna Richardson, who led her team with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “We didn’t have help-side, and she was able to put it in.”
Last had six of the Rockets’ 11 assists, and she scored Rock Falls’ first four points of overtime. The junior guard added 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Lindy Holcomb scored a game-high 17 points with six rebounds, Giddings had five points and eight rebounds, and Taylor Byrd added five points and five rebounds.
Last helped Rock Falls pull ahead in the second quarter after a back-and-forth first. The junior made a pull-up jumper on a fast break to put her team ahead 16-14, then she found Holcomb in the post for a four-point lead.
The Rockets led 26-18 at halftime, and a Holcomb basket gave Rock Falls its biggest lead, 28-18, 2 minutes into the second half.
That was the Rockets’ only basket of the quarter, and the Comets (1-1) came back. Cesarek, Kayla Moore and Kaitlyn Hunsberger led Newman on a 10-1 run. Hunsberger’s reverse layup tied the score 32-32 a minute into the fourth quarter, which from that point featured four more ties and two lead changes.
“Last year we would have ended up losing this game by 10 or 15 points,” Mammosser said. “But we came together as a team after they came back. That shows me how much we’ve grown.”
Newman junior Kaitlon Busser scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and her three-point play with 3 minutes left in OT gave the Comets their last lead, 43-42. Cesarek scored 11 points with four assists and four steals, and Hunsberger had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“Rock Falls certainly deserved to win, and Craig has a nice group,” said Newman coach Ryan Oetting, whose first two varsity games have been decided in the final 20 seconds. “I think you’ll see a vast improvement once we get some more gym time together. Our timing’s off and it shows.”
Rock Falls 47, Newman 45
Star of the game: Jordan Giddings, RF, winning shot with 6 seconds left, 8 rebounds, 5 points
Key performers: Lindy Holcomb, RF, 17 points; Brianna Richardson, Newman, 12 points, 10 rebounds; Paige Last, RF, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Up next: Rock Falls at Stillman Valley, Morrison at Newman, 7:30 p.m.
