Springfield’s Rachel Conran, gained control on this jump possession with Mount St. Joseph’s Lauren Hoffman with under 10 seconds remaining to help give Springfield a 42-41 victory Wednesday night in a District 1 Class 5A quarterfinal round game. (PETE BANNAN/MEDIANEWS GROUP)
By Terry Toohey
Anabel Kreydt wasn’t sure where she was supposed to be when teammate Rachel Conran stepped to the free throw line with 4.2 seconds left and Springfield clinging to a precarious one-point lead Wednesday night.
Should she set up for a possible rebound in the event of a miss or go back on defense and help prevent Mount St. Joseph’s from getting a potential game-winning shot off before the buzzer?
“Usually, when there’s that much time left, they tell me to get back,”Kreydt said.
Kreydt, a sophomore, didn’t want to leave anything to chance. So she asked head coach Ky McNichol for some guidance, just to be sure. McNichol told Kreydt to set up for a possible rebound.
The decision to keep Kreydt in for a rebound turned out to be a wise move. Conran missed the free throw but Kreydt tipped the ball enough that when MSJ’s Kiersten Pumilia tracked it down and tried to make a play, she stepped on the sideline to give the ball back to the top-seeded Cougars with just 1.4 showing on the clock.