Down 33-26 with 1:35 to go in the game, the Camp Verde High School girls basketball team looked all but beaten Friday, Dec. 17, but somehow, someway, the Cowboys just wouldn’t quit and won, 36-33.
“We were down 10 the whole game. We started slow and at halftime we talked about having heart and playing better defense,” longtime Camp Verde Head Coach Mark Showers said.
The Cowboys found themselves down 12-4 after the first quarter of play and went into halftime trailing 23-12. In the third quarter, Camp Verde outscored rival Mingus Union High School 9-4 in the third period to trail 27-21 with one to go.
A 15-6 run in the final eight minutes of play for the Cowboys earned Camp Verde a victory, but it was the last 1:35 that really surprised attending fans.
Sophomore Amanda Showers, who was 2 for 15 from the field against Mingus, hit a big three-point basket to get the rally started, cutting the Marauders lead to four, 33-29.
Camp Verde got a defensive stop and came down looking to get it inside to junior standout Lila Hickey, who showcased her best drop step to put in a basket, cutting the lead to two, 33-31.
“Things didn’t go well for us to begin the game and we didn’t play with a lot of heart but we came out in the second half and played great defense and got a chance at the end to win,” Showers said.
On Mingus’ next-to-last possession, Amanda Showers recorded a steal, which she dished to sophomore teammate Donnie Buss, who ran downcourt to put in a layin while getting fouled to tie the game, 33-33.
With 30 seconds on the clock, Buss calmly hit the free throw to give her Cowboys the lead, 34-33, and the comeback
was complete.
“At the time, I thought to myself, ‘Let’s just play good defense and when we get the rebound I’ll call a timeout,’” Showers said with a big smile.
Mingus settled for a 15-foot jump shot with 14 seconds to go, and missed, with Hickey pulling the rebound. Showers called his timeout to set up a play to get his daughter Amanda Showers the ball.
“We knew they were going to foul,” Mark Showers said.
Amanda Showers caught the inbound pass, dribbled through three defenders and was finally fouled by the fourth with 0.1 seconds left.
Showers hit both to put the Cowboys up 36-33 and Mingus’ full court heave was nowhere near close as Camp Verde escaped with a victory.
Standouts included Buss, who scored 11 points while pulling six rebounds and recording three steals and two assists.
Hickey had 11 points and 11 rebounds while Showers had eight points and two steals.
With the win, Camp Verde improves its record to 9-2 overall this season and a perfect 5-0 in power point games.
The Cowboys are currently ranked No. 7 in the Arizona Interscholastic Association power point polls, which were released Monday, Dec. 20.
Next up for Camp Verde, the Cowboys will play host to the annual Yvonne Johnson Memorial Shootout, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Dec. 28, and run through Wednesday, Dec. 29.
After the tournament, Camp Verde is scheduled to host Mayer High School on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
