Shorthanded and depleted 8th grade girls pull out gutsy victory

**Highlights below**

Tiffany was out with an ankle injury and didn't even suit up. Late in the third, Sally went flying hard onto the gym floor and banged her knee. And then seconds later Emily got smacked in the face with a ball and cut her lip.

Despite that, the 8th grade girls found a way, despite missing countless lay-ups, to grind out a 21-19 win in their final regular season game as St. Mary's students.

Sally scored 5 of her career-high 9 points in the fourth quarter and led the team in scoring, and Patricia scored the first two points of her career with a jump shot a minute into the game.

The girls clung to a two point lead and looked like they attempted to find new and different ways to lose the game, but the other team didn't cooperate as they weren't able to get any points off the 8th grade's mistakes.

With less than 10 seconds to play, the girls had three chances to inbound the ball and secure the win. But each time, the girls couldn't advance the ball mid-court -- the latest coming when Melinda handed the ball to Emily, a violation that results in losing the ball.

So with a little more than 3 seconds in the game, they had to defend and make sure the other team didn't score to force overtime, or even worse, hit a three and win the game. The ball was thrown inbound and it kicked around for a few seconds before the other team could get a shot off. And on that note, the girls officially became (7-1) for the season.

In their third year, they have looked the best. After seasons of (2-6) and (4-4), the girls dominated in half of their games, winning by double digits. And what's even better about their play this year is it's hard to spot one girl who is particularly playing better than the other.

Tonight's game was a perfect example as every girl got on the score sheet, and even when they weren't scoring, they were able to come up with some key steals and rebounds.

Their game will need to be fine tuned for the playoffs as every possession will be magnified. The girls will need to work hard in practice and bring their "A" game from here on out, so they can cap off their final few games at St. Mary's in style.