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Sure, senior guard Gabby Connally scored 37 points. But it was little things that added up to Brandeis’ come-from-behind, 67-66 victory over East Central in a Class 6A first-round playoff Tuesday at Greehey Arena.
It was freshman Kaia Herrera not giving up on a steal, which eventually led to a key basket. It was junior Denay Griffin sinking two free throws with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter that sent the game to overtime. It was junior Breauna Delon snagging rebounds with the game in the balance.
“When you shoot 22 percent the whole game, it’s hard,” Brandeis coach Jennifer Brewer said. “We had to really focus on defense and rebounding. They are a really great basketball team. The kids worked hard all year and it came down to defense and rebounding and finally, blocking people out.”
OK, it was Connally, too.
The Georgia signee scored 22 of her points in the second half and sank 5 of 6 free throws in overtime to secure victory. Brandeis made 11 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Every basketball coach knows about pressure free throws,” Brewer said. “We focus on free throws all of the time. I think the kids stepped up and they didn’t blink an eye.”
Brandeis faces Lee in the second round.
East Central (24-10) led for most of the game. The Hornets were up 44-36 at the 2:38 mark of the third quarter. Junior forward NaLyssa Smith helped the Hornets build that lead by scoring 24 to that point. However, Smith had just five points the rest of the way.
That allowed the Broncos (24-8) to climb back. East Central led 49-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
Connally grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast to put the Broncos ahead 58-57 with 1:25 remaining. Brianna Ford scored on a putback and Ryan Gonzales made a free throw that put East Central in the lead, 60-58, with 1 minute left. Griffin’s two free throws sent it to overtime.
Brittany Rodgers sank a 3-pointer from the right corner and the Hornets led 65-64 with 50 seconds left in overtime.
Connally sank two free throws with 14 seconds remaining that put Brandeis ahead 67-65. Smith made 1 of 2 free throws with 1.2 seconds left.
“They were really physical and the refs weren’t making a lot of calls either way, so we had to match their physicality, and that’s what we did,” Connally said.
dhinojosa@express-news.net
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