Announcement
Taja Colbert hits for 21, leads Bishop McDevitt to overtime win at rival Trinity
A stuffed, humid gymnasium wasn’t the only obstacle Bishop McDevitt had to overcome Saturday night.
Staring at a six-point deficit at Trinity’s famed Harry DeFrank Court, the Crusaders had to find a way to extend this raucous Mid-Penn Conference crossover battle by any means necessary. Good thing guard Taja Colbert and her running mates were up to task.
Colbert scored a game-high 21 points and fellow guard Diana Mosten chipped in 10 as the Crusaders knocked down Trinity 58-50 via a blistering 13-5 edge in overtime.
Lightning-fast 3-pointers by Mosten and Colbert in the first 30 seconds of bonus time finally unraveled a Trinity team that failed to hold a six-point lead with 4:03 remaining in regulation.
The Shamrocks even led 48-45 before Colbert took a slick pass from Sanai Moore and buried a 3-pointer from the left baseline with 16 precious seconds to go.
A last-ditch drive by Ava Stevenson didn’t fall, and the Crusaders used the extra time to win its fifth game of the season.
Maya Carter added 9 points, and Miranda Keller 7, for Bishop McDevitt (5-3). Guard Jaylin Moore posted 16 points for the Shamrocks (6-3), which dropped its second straight.
STARS
Trinity did well to push the visitors to the brink in the fourth period. Leading by a small 37-35 count with 7:05 to play, forward Jocelyn Dorsey’s fight for an offensive rebound and putback, coupled with her two free throws on the ensuing possession, rocked the partisan house.
However, Colbert, a 5-4 junior guard, sliced down the lane and converted a runner at the 5:06 mark to keep McD engaged. With Trinity up 44-40 a full two minutes later, Moore’s miss on the front end of a 1-and-1, gave the Crusaders some life.
After Carter converted a leaner, Moore did hit 1 of 2 free throws on the other end with 34 seconds left in regulation. Sanai Moore quickly set up Colbert at the other end, penetrating from the left wing before kicking out to her teammate.
GAME-SEALING MOMENT
Trinity attempted to rebound from McD’s thunderous start to overtime, but a free throws by Sanai Moore, coupled with two by Colbert, offset a couple of Trinity hits from the line. A Kylie Johnson follow with under 3 minutes to go also kicked McD’s lead back to six (53-47).
THEY SAID IT “We told them to dig down deep. This is a time when we needed to play. We conditioned for this and we needed to play.” – MCD coach Kevin Dupes
“We wanted to push the ball as much as we can. I think our on-ball defense tonight was the best it’s been all season. At times we were really good and at times we were average, but in the last couple of minutes of regulation and overtime we were really good.” — Dupes
Bishop McDevitt 13-13-9-10-13—58
