As time expired in the third quarter of Saturday’s 4A state quarterfinal basketball game, Richard Montgomery High Rockets sophomore guard Katie Diao hit the night’s first and only three-pointer from three feet beyond the arc to give the Rockets the lead over the Clarksburg High Coyotes for the first time since their 2-point lead in the first quarter.
The Rockets crowd erupted in the Clarksburg gymnasium, but uniquely it was the Coyotes who seized momentum from the shot.
“I don’t know why it always happens to us. It’s kind of weird,” Clarksburg freshman forward Destiny Turner said, laughing at the absurdity. “We just have to put our hands up.”
The reason why the Rockets were able to take the lead was due to free throw shooting, one of the Coyotes’ lone weaknesses. Prior to the fourth quarter, the Coyotes were a combined 1 for 10 from the line, while the Rockets were 10 for 10. It’s been their bane throughout the playoffs and Coyotes Head Coach Sissy Natoli thought this just may be the game that it haunts them.
“I thought [the free throws were] going to come back and get us,” Natoli said.
At this point, Clarksburg senior guard Trinity Turner said she’s no longer relying on her sisters Destiny and junior forward London Turner to score at the free throw line. The pair went 2 for 12 from the stripe on the night.
“I’m kind of giving up on London and Destiny,” Trinity Turner said in jest. “No offense to them. They’re great players down low, but at the line I just kind of pray and hope those go in. … But once we get home, I’m going off on them.”
But free throws didn’t determine this game as the Coyotes dominated the fourth quarter, holding the Rockets to six points while they scored 18.
The Coyotes have been at their best in the fourth quarter in the state tournament. They outscored the Seneca Valley Screamin’ Eagles 18-10 in the fourth quarter. Against the Frederick Cadets, they also outscored their opponent 17-5. In the three tournament games combined, they’ve outscored their opponents 53-21. Trinity Turner shared what makes the team turn it on in the fourth.
“I think the first three quarters we always know we have another quarter to go,” Trinity Turner said. “But once we hit that fourth quarter, we kind of lock in as a team and we look up at the scoreboard and we’re like, ‘This is not right. This is not us. We should be blowing the [other] team out right now.’ ”
Scoring in the paint has been the Coyotes’ greatest strength this season, with talented forwards Destiny and London Turner leading the charge. Their aggressiveness translates to points, free throw attempts and getting their opponents’ best defenders, like the Rockets’ 6-foot-3 senior center Joy Dau, into foul trouble, and also playing more conservatively to avoid fouling out.
The strategy worked in the fourth quarter as Dau had four fouls and was taken out for part of the Coyotes’ 10-point scoring run that allowed them to regain their lead and win, 47-37.
After the victory, the Coyotes celebrated by cutting down the net. Other teams did so in the quarterfinals, but the Coyotes waited until they could do so back on their home court.
“We could have done that at Frederick but [we were being] respectful,” London Turner said. “So we just brought it home and did it here.”
Top scorers
Coyotes: London Turner (19), Destiny Turner (14), Trinity Turner (10)
Rockets: Katie Diao (16), Joy Dau (13), Charlyn Chu (6)
Upcoming games (4A State Tournament)
Clarksburg Coyotes vs. C.H. Flowers Jaguars, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET