The girls basketball team (10–1) slid past the Churchill Bulldogs (9–1) in a thrilling buzzer-beater win Friday.

The Vikes got off to a slow start in the first half, as they were unable to beat the Bulldog’s aggressive 3–2 zone. At the end of the half, the score was 30–16 in favor of the Bulldogs.

“It was really frustrating because no matter how many steals we had on defense, we couldn’t get anything done on offense,” forward Carter McGloon said. “And, Churchill’s offense was putting in more shots than we’ve seen before.”

The Vikes regrouped at halftime, and at the start of the third quarter, they began to increase their offensive intensity.

“By the start of the fourth quarter, we had cut their halftime lead in half,” forward Emma Salafsky said. “By that point it was close enough that I knew we had a real chance.”

The Vikes tied the game up with about two minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs fought back and responded with free throws to go up by four. With 1:30 left in the game, center Leia Till made a layup to cut the deficit to two. Both teams were held scoreless for multiple possessions, but with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Coach Pete Kenah called a time-out to draw up a last play.

When the game resumed, guard Elyse Lowet got the ball at the top of the key and launched a three pointer with just three seconds left. The crowd erupted after the shot banked in to give the squad a one point lead, which the Vikes hung onto after holding off the Bulldog’s last second effort.

“When Elyse made the three, I was in disbelief but also so excited. When it went in, I knew we had basically won the game” Salafsky said. “We wanted to rush the court but Kenah was holding us back because there were still three seconds left.”

The team next faces the B–CC Barons Tuesday at 5:30 at B–CC High School.

Elyse Lowet is a sports editor for The Black & White.