Van Buren falls just short at the buzzer

DONNELLSON ? In a game of close calls, Makenzie Zeitler?s potential game-winng 15-foot jumper as time ran out was just inches off, and instead of Van Buren celebrating a regional quarterfinal victory, it was Central Lee moving on with a 32-31 victory Tuesday night.

Trailing by one point coming out of a timeout with five seconds left, Van Buren head coach Randy Smith drew up the play for Zeitler that got exactly what he wanted ? his sophomore guard a shot for the win.

?When you shoot 50 percent from the field, half of them are going in and half are going out ? this one happened to stay out,? Smith said. ?But not too many sophomores can put themselves in the position she did ? she really executed well. She took here time, didn?t panic and put up a good shot.?

Before the heart stopping finish, Van Buren (13-10) held a late 31-27 lead before missed free throws and turnovers led to its season-ending demise. Central Lee (16-5) hit from behind the three-point arc to draw within one point before firing what proved to be the game-winner ? all while forcing a Warrior turnover and bringing in a few missed free throws. The Hawks missed a free throw of their own leading into the final Van Buren timeout with five ticks left.

?They were playing with four seniors on the floor, and we have two on the whole team, so you hope some of the younger kids can gain and learn from that situation,? Smith said. ?It?s tough to get beat like that, but that?s the way basketball goes.?

The Warriors jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter before hitting an offensive funk and trailing 15-11 at intermission. Van Buren then fell behind by as many as seven points early in the third before coming back to take the late lead.

?I?m proud of the way they played, and happy with how the girls played the whole season. We just came up short.? said Smith. ?There are a lot of kids coming back so we should be fine.?