SCW falls to Faith in third-place game at Class B tourney

HURON — A last-second 3-point shot by Shanna Selby gave Faith a 51-48 win over Sanborn Central/ Woonsocket in the third-place game at the Class B girls’ state tournament on Saturday at Huron Arena.

“It felt amazing,” Selby said. “I thought it was going to be way off. I didn’t even know if it was going to make it to the basket.”

The shot at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and bounced straight up before coming back down and through the net.

“I thought it was short,” Faith coach Bryan Carmichael said. “It was a little bit, but it caught just enough of the rim to come straight up and then back down.”

Sanborn Central/ Woonsocket head coach Tim McCain was upset that his team lost the game, but was extremely proud of the effort that the Blackhawks (22-4) showed throughout the contest.

“I’m proud of the girls’ effort,” he said. “I thought we played great defense at the end, (but) they just happened to get the bounce. You’ve got to give that girl credit.”

The battle for third place in Class B saw 10 lead changes, including six in the second half.

“It was a great ballgame,” McCain said. “We made some runs, they made some runs. We kept working hard and kept battling.”

The Blackhawks came out with a quick lead as Shelby Selland won the opening tipoff and got the ball down low for the games first bucket to give Sanborn Central/Woonsocket a 2-0 lead.

Marissa Weber connected from behind the arc on the next possession to give the Blackhawks a 5-0 lead.

When Faith fell behind 7-2, it switched to a press defense that helped slow down the Blackhawks’ offense. From there, the Longhorns made a charge at end the first quarter and led 10-7 heading into the second.

“Their press did really bother us,” McCain said. “I thought we did a better job in the second half, but in the first half, it really created some problems.”

The Blackhawks battled back in the second quarter, and after two free throws from Rachelle Moore, took back the lead 19-17.

The Longhorns answered back quickly, as Faith’s TyAnn Schuelke banked in a 3-pointer to give her team a 20-19 lead. Faith added to its lead and went into the break leading 26-22.

“We could have hung up and gave up,” McCain said. “I’m proud of the whole team for the effort.”

Sanborn Central/ Woonsocket got down by as much as six points early in the third, but Selland connected on two consecutive three-point plays to tie the game at 36.

After a Weber three-point attempt went in-and-out, Morgan Selland was able to haul in an offensive rebound and made a bucket to give the Blackhawks their first lead of the second half. The Blackhawks led 38-36 just before the third quarter ended.

The fourth quarter went back and forth with both teams hitting clutch shots.

“We hit key shots (and) they hit key shots,” McCain said. “We had chances there at the end.”

The Blackhawks missed a couple of free throws with fewer than two minutes to play and Faith had the ball with a minute remaining and the score tied at 48. The Longhorns would hold on for the final shot.

Selby was 0-for-6 from behind the arc before hitting the game-winner.

Faith improved to 22-4 to end the season after shooting 21-of-62 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Shania Johnston led the Longhorns with 12 points.

The Blackhawks shot 17-of-38 from the field and 8-of-13 from the line. Shelby Selland led all scorers with 21 points also recorded eight rebounds.

Weber finished with 20 points, including six 3-pointers. Rachel Selland led the team with nine rebounds.

Sanborn Central /Woonsocket outrebounded the Longhorns 41-26, but turned the ball over 22 times compared to Faith’s seven.

NOTES: Shelby Selland and Weber were named to the all-tournament team.

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