Failing to press one little button. That’s all that it took to end the Hawks’ women’s basketball team from earning the District 1 3A title as they came up just short of the Glacier Peak Grizzlies on Saturday night, 53-52.
With the Hawks trailing 53-50, senior post Maddy Kristjanson hit a baseline jumper to bring the score to 53-52 with a little under 10 seconds to play.
Glacier Peak (or any team for that matter) is normally granted five seconds to pass in the ball, but instead received closer to ten as a Grizzly player accidentally kicked the ball far out of play, stumbling back to the baseline before quickly passing the ball in just moments before the sound of the final buzzer. Seeing as the ball was accidentally kicked far out of play, officials should have stopped time to allow normal play to resume.
In all reality, the Hawks needed a lot more than just one press of a button to either tie or win the game. After Glacier Peak inbounded the ball, Terrace would need to immediately foul, leaving anywhere from roughly three to six seconds on the clock.
The Grizzlies would then proceed to shoot a set of one-and-one free throws, with the possibility of leading 55-52 and the Hawks having to drive the entire length of the court and then making a three pointer to tie the game, possibly sending it to overtime.
What if, what if, what if.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, said hypothetical situation did not happen and the Grizzlies were crowned District 1 champions as the Terrace fans watched in disbelief as their comeback late in the game was stopped just short.
After trailing 42-34 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, a comeback seeming unlikely for the Hawks against the Grizzlies.
But with just over a minute to play the Hawks cut the Grizzly lead to just 51-48, setting up an ending for the ages between two of the best teams in the state.
The Hawks were, as in all three other matchups against the Grizzlies, far undersized against the likes of towering posts Taylor Baird (6’1″) and Nicole Fausey (6’4″). The duo absolutely dominated the boards and post game, giving Glacier Peak numerous second chance points.
As usual, Samantha Romanowski, Nikki Forehelich and Maddy Kristjanson all led the offense charge for the Hawks, totaling 44 of the Hawks’ 52 points.
Romanowski and Fausey both led all scorers with 19 points. The Hawks take on the Lincoln Abes ( with the date and location TBD.
