Driggs' 3-point buzzer beater pushes Sandpoint past Tigers
(Photo courtesy of JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY) The team mobs senior Dawson Driggs after she banked in a three-pointer as time expired to give the Bulldogs the win.
SANDPOINT — The bank was open for Dawson Driggs on Thursday night.
As time expired, the senior point guard let go of a shot from outside the 3-point line that took a kiss off the glass before swooshing through the net to give Sandpoint girls basketball a 54-53 win over Timberlake on Thursday night.
“I was so happy for the girls,” head coach Will Love said. “They’ve worked so hard for the last year and a half to get a win like this. I was just ecstatic for the girls.”
The Bulldogs led for almost the entire game and had a 32-22 halftime advantage but the Tigers slowly chipped away at Sandpoint’s lead to climb back into the game.
Entering the fourth quarter, Sandpoint led 42-34 but Timberlake went on a 12-0 to take its first lead of the game with under six minutes to play.
Both teams struggled to make a basket down the stretch but freshman Kelsey Cessna was able to put the Bulldogs back on top when she got a steal and converted a layup with 3:29 left.
Sandpoint clung to the lead until Timberlake’s Taylor Suko buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Tigers up 53-51 with 7.8 seconds left.
After a Bulldogs timeout, Sandpoint struggled to get the ball up court quickly on the inbounds play, but that didn’t matter to Driggs who sent the home crowd into a frenzy with the game winning shot.
“I knew we were going to be able to get a shot up with the kids that we had on the floor ... I didn’t necessarily draw that up but maybe we will [in the future],” Love said jokingly.
Senior Maddie Morgan led the team with 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers in the game. Junior Hattie Larson added 11 points while Timberlake’s Taryn Soumas hit five three-pointers and scored 25.
The Bulldogs (3-4) remain at home to take on Kellogg 3 p.m. Saturday.
SANDPOINT 16 16 10 12 — 54
TIMBERLAKE 13 9 12 19 — 53
Sandpoint — Cessna 6, Morgan 14, Daw. Driggs 8, Edwards 2, Phillips 4, Larson 11, Banks 9.
Timberlake — Soumas 25, Suko 3, Kronenberg 5, Jessen 13, Jeffs 7.