Juelfs, Coyotes stun Leyton in last second

Before Taylor Juelfs of Potter-Dix sank a three pointer from the top of the key with 3:31 left in regulation, the Coyotes trailed by their biggest margin of the night at 7 points.

But with two more Juelfs threes to come, as part of her 13-point fourth quarter, the visiting Coyotes pulled off a stunning final second victory, overtaking host Leyton 30-28 Tuesday night.

While the Coyotes trailed for much of the middle portion of the contest, it was a tight affair from start to finish. Leyton and Potter-Dix is a rivalry with a long history and players on both sides are very familiar with each other.

"We've been playing with most of them since we were little kids," said the Coyotes Morgan Wolff, whose cousin, Dani McKay, wears the Leyton uniform. "This is a rivalry game so it's a very uplifting win and we'll get good vibes from this going forward."

With 4:51 remaining in the final quarter it looked as if the Warriors' were beginning to wrest control of the contest away from Potter-Dix. Kelsey Waite sank a short jumper at that juncture for a 26-19 lead. But 1:20 later things began to move in the other direction.

After the Juelfs three pointer brought the score to 26-22, the teams continued to spar over the next two minutes without any offensive result. Then with 90 seconds left Juelfs flexed the twine again to bring the visitors to within a point.

"I knew that I had to come out flying at the end," Juelfs said.

Despite the jolt to their system, the Warriors counter punched as Diedra Waite sank a two pointer to reestablish a 3 point home-team lead.

The real drama began with just 18 seconds left, when Juelfs took a pass from Wolff and dropped in her third three in a span of three minutes to tie up the contest. The bucket marked the first time since the second quater that Potter-Dix had any part of the lead.

After the score, the Coyotes immediately went into a full-court press trying to force the Warriors into a mistake. It worked.

Nine seconds after the tying hoop, the Coyotes forced a turnover which sent the ball into the hands of Alexus Rozelle. She spotted an open Juelfs on the doorstep who calmly and with deliberation put up the winning layup.

"I knew I had to make it so I wanted to be really slow about it," said Juelfs.

On the other end of the connection Rozelle had confidence she was sending the pass to the right person.

"My instinct was to throw it right away and trust that Taylor would make the shot," Rozelle said. "I knew she would do what she needed to do to make that shot."

As they had the advantage at the end of the game, so did did the Coyotes take the early advantage. They sprinted out to a 6-0 lead while allowing only two points to Leyton in the first quarter.

During the second quarter the Warriors began to get their shooting touch as Natalie Cruise tied up the contest at 6-6 when she sank a three pointer from the top of the key. The teams were again tied at 8 and 10 when Kelsey Waite and Cruise ended the half with layups to take a 14-10 lead heading into the locker room.

The lead the Warriors had worked so hard to capture they held until the waning seconds of the contest. Though Leyton was able to keep the lead, the sparring match continued throughout the third period.

Though Juelfs opened the second-half scoring with a three pointer, the Warriors answered with two layups from Diedra Waite. Then the Coytoes' Tiffany Lewis countered with a pair of free throws and a layup to narrow the gap to 18-17.

The teams headed into the final period with Leyton holding a three-point edge following a left-side jumper by Carly Rushman in the waining seconds.

Juelfs led all scorers on both sides with 16 points - all tallied in the second half. Lewis added 6 points for Potter-Dix. Defensively, Rozelle pulled down 22 boards including 16 in the first 16 minutes. Lewis coralled 5 rebounds.

With 8 points Diedra Waite led a balanced scoring attack for the Warriors. Kelsey Waite dropped in 6 points, Cruise 5 and Rushman 4.

Both squads are back in action again on Friday. Leyton will host Banner County while Potter-Dix will host Colorado invader Caliche.

Girls Basketball

Potter-Dix 30

Leyton 28