***Be sure to click the VIDEOS link above for video highlights; interviews to follow***By James A. McCray III
Prince George's County, Content Manager
There are many ways to celebrate a birthday. Eating cake, having a party, and going out to dinner are just small examples of the numerous ways to do so.
But, for
C.H. Flowers Lady Jaguars basketball player
Brittney Waters, she decided to celebrate a little differently Thursday night.
With the game tied at 61, Waters hit the
game-winning free throw with 5 seconds remaining in a
4A South semi-final contest at
Henry Wise to lift her team to victory,
62-61.
"I just had to zone the crowd out, take my time, and focus," Waters said of the free throw. " ... I was just happy. This is my last year, so we have to do it big."
The Lady Jaguars advance to the 4A South championship game for the third consecutive season, and after the victory, Flowers head coach
Patricia Frazier wanted to deliver a strong and stern message to her team.
"I told them that we will be back here on Saturday," Frazier said of the upcoming title game also to be hosted at Wise. "Just look around. ... Right here is where are going to be."
As for Waters' shot, Frazier added: "The birthday girl. ... All I asked for was that my senior make that last one because we were not ready for double overtime or anything like that, it's just that simple."
Wise opened up a 50-40 lead late in the third quarter, but Flowers immediately responded with an 8-0 scoring run to close the quarter and cut the deficit to two.
The third-seeded Lady Jaguars eventually took a brief lead, 57-56, with a little over four minutes remaining in the game after two successful free throws from
Dominique Person (12 points).
Even still, staying true to the nature of the fourth quarter, the Lady Pumas roared back to take a
59-57 lead on a three-point play by
Briana Gibson.
Flowers'
Lauren Brown tied the game at 59, and a
Raven Yelder lay-up gave Flowers the lead, 61-59, a lead it would not give up again.
"We have been down before, and we were able to grind it out,"
Frazier said of her team. "I couldn't have asked for anything else."
Brown led the Lady Jaguars with 15 points in the victory and had all of the confidence in her teammate knocking down the deciding free throw.
"Honestly, I was not shaking," Brown admitted, "because I have confidence in my teammate, and I knew she was going to hit the shot, honestly."
The semi-final contest was a true battle on the floor as both teams had players sprawling, diving, and clawing for each and every loose ball. However, Wise head coach
Walter Clark and the second-seeded Lady Pumas came up just short.
"Hey, they played the best when they had to play their best," Clark said of Flowers. " ... They did a better all-around job. Their experience showed as they got the shots they wanted to take and forced us into shots we don't ordinarily take. So, hats off to them."
Jordan Swails led Wise with a game-high 16 points on the night.
As it is the third consecutive year that the Lady Jaguars have advanced to the regional final, Waters (14 points) and the Lady Jaguars have one extra reason to celebrate.
And when asked what of the two choices is better, birthday cake or a play-off win, Waters added: "Getting this win, definitely."
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James A. McCray III
Flowers 62, Wise 61Flowers -- 20 10 18 14; Brown 15, Waters 14, Gorham 12, Person 12, Yelder 4, Burgess 2, Ekanem 2, Tucker 1
Wise -- 14 19 17 11; Swails 16, Smith 11, Gibson 10, Pope-Addison 9, Slayton 7, Borum 6, Waters 2