Pekin buzzer-beaters break WACO in 3 OT?s

PACKWOOD ? While some sports are games of inches, Tuesday night was a game of seconds.

Pekin beat the buzzer from behind the arc to tie the game at the end of regulation, at the end of the first overtime, and after a second extra period couldn?t settle things, the Panthers finally distanced themselves from WACO in the third.

A sluggish start to the evening turned into a thrilling ending and when the dust settled Pekin (2-0, 2-0 SEISC north) did enough to earn a 50-47 victory in three overtimes.

?You can definitely say that the Pekin girls never give up,? said head coach Davis Eidahl.

Pekin led for much of the contest before WACO (1-1, 1-1) took its biggest lead of the night at 31-26 with just three minutes left in regulation. A Cheyann Lankford breakaway brought the Panthers back within three points at 31-28, and the defense cranked it up from there. Pekin forced four WACO turnovers in the final minute, the last one being a Kaitlin Spilman steal that led to a Dominique Tolle three-pointer in the ensuing scramble.

Tolle found the bottom of the net just as the buzzer sounded to keep her Panthers in the game.

?I just wanted to get an open shot. The clock was running down, so when there was a little bit of an opening I just had to put it up,? said Tolle, who scored nine of her 13 points with that shot at the end of regulation and in overtime.

The dramatics didn?t stop there for Pekin as another comeback effort was in store.

WACO took a four-point lead, 37-33, with 30 ticks left before Jessi Martin answered with a three-pointer ? her third of the game from deep. Peyton Blake hit two clutch free throws with six seconds left to put WACO ahead 39-36, but this time it was Emily Ellis who found an open spot at the top of the key and swished it through as time expired to tie the game once more.

The two teams played even in overtime No. 2 with neither squad able to score in the final 54 seconds and the 42-42 tie added yet another OT period.

Ellis hit two free throws to open up the third overtime, and the Panthers never gave up that lead. Tolle hit two mid-range jumpers and Brandi Millikin sank two more free throws to give Pekin a 50-44 lead with 50 ticks remaining.

WACO was able to hit one more three ball, but couldn?t match Pekin?s final-second heroics and the 50-47 score stood.

?It was amazing to pull that one out,? Tolle said. ?After Emily made her shot, we actually thought we had it won, but there was still more to go. It was a great game.?

For the Panthers, it was the second close, come-from-behind victory and second conference win of the young season. Ellis led the way with 16 points helped by hitting 2-of-4 from downtown. Martin finished with 11 and Kaitlin Spilman pulled in nine rebounds and had five steals.

Next up for Pekin is a trip to north-division bottom-feeder IMS Friday night.