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Reina Hill hit a bunch of clutch shots for Lancaster Catholic on Saturday afternoon.
But she saved her best for last.
Hill's runner from the left baseline fell just before the buzzer, lifting the Crusaders to a wild 64-62 overtime non-league win over Section 2 co-leader Solanco at Catholic.
Solanco's Emily Allport made the first of two free throws with 10.5 seconds to go in OT to knot the game at 62-all.
Catholic's Ariana Nazario secured the defensive board, and the Crusaders rushed to the other end of the court.
Victoria Brito passed it off to Hill on the baseline. She went up in traffic and tossed up a high floating shot, which hit the rim, banked off the glass, spun around the rim and dropped, just before the horn.
Ballgame.
"(The ball) was up there for about an hour and a half," Hill joked. "It felt like it was up there forever."
But it eventually dropped through the net and Catholic survived Solanco, which overcame a 7-point fourth-quarter deficit to force OT.
"I thought we were going to lose this game, actually," Hill admitted during the postseason celebration.
"But we pulled through and we played as a team and we communicated. This is great … amazing."
And what an amazing 24-hour span for Catholic, which knocked off Lancaster Mennonite 47-34 on the same floor Friday night to force a first-place tie in Section 4 with the Blazers.
"To win back-to-back games like this is a huge confidence booster for our kids," Catholic coach Lamar Kauffman said.
"This team is really starting to take a lot of pride in itself. Winning games like this, against a quality non-league opponent, really brings to their minds some respectability. I think they're starting to feel that, and that's a really good feeling."
Solanco, which slipped to 13-5 overall, got off to a hot start Saturday.
Taylor Kreider, playing despite a bad head cold, and Mackenzie Keys each had three first-quarter buckets and the Golden Mares jumped to a 14-11 lead.
Then Catholic's Jen Roehm warmed to the task, scoring 8 of her team-high 17 points in the second quarter, when the Crusaders, who improved to 13-5 overall, outscored the Mares 16-14 and sliced Solanco's lead down to 28-27 at the break.
Roehm remained hot with 6 third-quarter points, and Hill dropped a 3-pointer and had two baskets in the third, when Catholic, which won its third game in a row, used a 20-13 run to grab a 47-41 lead heading into the fourth.
Undaunted, Solanco rallied, with Kreider scoring 8 of her game-high 25 points and Keys scoring 6 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Both teams had a chance to win it in regulation.
Kreider, who grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, drove the lane, but Catholic's Madeline Sloan stepped in and swatted her shot with 5.8 seconds to go.
The ball went out of bounds off a Solanco player and the Crusaders had one last shot.
Roehm took an outlet pass, motored to the other end and squeezed off a jumper from the top of the key, but the shot spun out and it was 57-all going to OT.
Allport, who scored 13 points, did tie the game with one foul shot with 10.5 ticks to go.
But Hill cashed in at the other end, beating the buzzer after her shot used the glass and every inch of the rim.
"I was like, 'No, no, no!' and then I was like 'Yes, yes, yes!'" said Hill, who scored 13 points and grabbed 7 boards.
"I was really happy it went in. This is a big, big win for us. I'm happy we pulled it out."
NOTES — Solanco and Lebanon are tied for first place in Section 2 at 10-2 in league games. The Mares and the Cedars, who have won 11 games in a row, clinched the top two spots in Section 2 when Conestoga Valley bumped off Elizabethtown 40-35 on Friday night. Solanco is at Lebanon this Friday. … Catholic survived 23 turnovers; Solanco had 18. … Solanco out-rebounded Catholic 43-31. … Nazario added 12 points and 9 rebounds for Catholic. … Sloan had 16 points — 8 in the fourth quarter — and 5 boards for Catholic.
Sports writer Jeffrey Reinhart can be reached at jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
