Mooseheart rallies past Christian Liberty

Down 9 points midway through the second half and with points at an absolute premium, the possibility of Mooseheart winning Monday's contest with Christian Liberty seemed remote at best.

Yet the Ramblers (9-8) found a spark and rallied for a 32-30 victory, ultimately sealed when Santana Sanchez hit a layup with 2 seconds to play. Time expired before Christian Liberty could get the ball upcourt for a final shot.

"It was kind of nerve-wracking," Mooseheart's Cayana Samuelson said. "We went in and said that we were basically playing slow and we felt we just had to get it. I think that us picking up our spirits and getting along on the court us get what we wanted to get out of the game."

Samuelson was key as the Ramblers rally hit full-speed midway through the fourth quarter. She hit a basket, rebounded a Christian Liberty miss that turned into a Katie Stryker layup and then hit a free throw. Samuelson finished with 7 points for the Ramblers.

"It feels good that when you do your main part for the team, it helps all the other players to be able to get baskets and rebounds and make good plays too," Samuelson said.

Stryker finished with 12 points, tied with Christian Liberty's Brittany Negron for game-high honors. Stryker scored 7 of those points in the fourth quarter.

"We bounced back," Mooseheart coach Bryan Miller said. "Maybe we didn't do it to the level of enthusiasm I'd like to have seen. But a win like this, you want to take it for what it was worth and move away with it."

Sanchez played only in the fourth quarter and scored 4 points, including the game-winning shot. The Ramblers took the ball the length of the court starting with 5 seconds to play.

"They made a play," Miller said. "We were trying to get a baseball pass to (Sanchez) down low and give her some time to dribble. They just kind of improvised, got into gaps and got an open shot."