Bulldogs rally to win sectional title

LEIPSIC - With his team down 11 points to Napoleon with just under 5 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Celina girls basketball coach Steve Bader told his six seniors it was up to them if they wanted to end their careers Saturday night or live to play another game.

The call was answered.

Heather Heiby beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Then with the score tied and time running out, Heiby drove and hit a layup with 0.2 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 46-44 win in the Division II sectional final at Leipsic High School.

With the win, Celina (13-10), which last played in the districts in 2013, faces Ottawa-Glandorf (21-2) in the district semifinals on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Paulding High School. The Titans cruised past Elida 42-26 in the first semifinal in Putnam County.

The Bulldogs struggled through the first three quarters against the Wildcats (17-7), who took over the lead at 7-6 early in the first quarter and tried to pull away several times, only to have Celina claw closer.

That scenario rang true to start the fourth quarter as Celina trailed 31-23. A quick basket by Jenna Berry got Celina to within six before a two-pointer from Olivia Behnfeldt and a three-pointer from Lexi Woods gave Napoleon its biggest lead of the night at 11. Napoleon quickly called timeout after Woods' trey, which gave Bader a chance to talk to his team.

"We kept telling the girls 'Keep fighting,' " Bader said. "Our biggest problem was we were our worst enemy. They got frustrated because we weren't scoring. Then we would foul. They hung in there and did what we asked."

The words inspired first senior Haley McGillvary, who hit a three-pointer, followed by classmate Classmate Kelly Stahl followed with a layup and Berry, the only underclassman to play significant minutes, getting a stick back to quickly mount Celina's comeback to within four at 36-32 with 3:21 left in regulation. Behnfeldt scored to push Napoleon back up to a six-point lead, but Heiby hit a three with one minute left to make it a one-possession game.

"In the fourth quarter we really picked it up defensively," Bader said. "That was the key. We went with our 1-2-2 press and switched it with our 2-2-1 press. That got the girls going. That's what we needed,"

Forced to foul, Celina put Taylor Rieger at the line. Three-of-six in her previous line appearances, Rieger made both tosses to put Napoleon up 40-35. Mackenzie Moorman hit a free throw to make it 40-36, but Rieger looked to put the game out of reach with two more free throws with 35.7 seconds to make it 42-36.

Celina would have none of that. Berry nailed a trey with 11 seconds left to cut it to 42-39 and after Carlie Kruse missed both free throws, Heiby got the pass off the rebound and nailed the three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

"Every (play) it was like 'This could be my last game.' That was running through my mind," said Heiby, who hit a half-court buzzer-beater earlier this season to beat Kenton. "I wasn't going to let that happen. I got into the mindset that I was going to do what I had to do."

Heiby put Celina back into the lead to start the extra session with a free throw. Napoleon, needing only a bucket to go ahead, took time off and passed the ball around but turned the ball over. Celina, instead of letting Napoleon foul to put them on the line, shot the ball quickly, but Moorman got the rebound and was fouled, making one free throw with 48.4 seconds left to make it a two-point game. After a Wildcat timeout, Behnfeldt broke free and scored with 27 seconds left to tie the game.

As expected, Heiby, Celina's leading scorer, got the ball for the last shot and headed toward the corner of the basket. The senior drove for a layup, which fell with 0.2 seconds left and Napoleon coach Corey Kreinbrink immediately called a timeout.

"I figured I needed to get into the lane and try to get a foul, which would have been a one-and-one," Heiby said in describing the game-winner. "I took it to the hoop, found a hole and banked it in."

After a discussion, the officials ruled that no time needed to be added to the clock, causing a protest from the Wildcats bench. Even with a long throw-in, the Wildcats had no chance to get a shot off before the buzzer, sending the Celina faithful that made the trip north into a celebration.

Heiby finished with 13 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. Berry added 12 and McGillvary scored 10.

Woods led Napoleon with 10.