It came down to the thinnest of wires on Saturday morning at Langston Hughes Elementary School as the Red and Black junior high girls’ Hoopsters team wrestled to secure a win, 14-13. In the end the victory was decided by a two-minute overtime, in which Red walked away with the win after hitting their free throws in the final minutes of the game.

The seventh- and eight-grade Black team took to the court with an obvious age and height advantage over the sixth- and seventh-grade Red team. Black players Lindsey Beeman, April Miller and Abbie Ramos stood almost head and shoulders above Red’s players. Red players said the Black team’s physical advantages daunted them before entering the match.

“I think we played well even though we are a lot younger than the other team,” power forward Taylor Augustine said. “They are so tall I thought they would make a lot of inside shots, but our coach told us to block out and play aggressively.”

The Red team took their coach’s advice to heart as they began the game with a four point lead on the Black. Standout player Jackie Garcia made the field goal for the Red, followed up by another basket from Christina Haswood.

Even though the Red team successfully worked substantially harder to hold the older and taller Black team, they still had some missed opportunities in the first quarter to stretch their lead.

Even with her height, Beeman missed some chances for a bucket, leaving the Black team with zero points, four behind the Red at the end of the first quarter.

The Red team moved extremely quickly in the second quarter. Brittney Ra passed outside the Black defenders to Marie Wahquahboshkuk, which led to another bucket for the Red team’s point total. After Wahquahboshkuk took a spill on the court, the freed up ball was instantly snatched by the Black team. Ramos drove the ball down court to the goal for a bucket. After both teams missed rebound opportunities, the half ended with the Red team leading 8-4.

Taylor Augustine, Jackie Garcia and Christina Haswood, left to right, celebrate their overtime win against the Hoopster Junior High girls' Black team Saturday at Langston Hughes Elementary.

Garcia continued to play aggressive ball for the Red team shooting a basket from almost as far back as the three-point line. When possession was gained by the Black team, Red had to work harder to drive shots outside of the defensive range of their opponents. Alexis Scheibler, Jamie Jarrett and April Miller were fast and ready for the grueling battle as they challenged Red players. The Red team still held on to their small three-point advantage over the Black, ending the third with the score 10-7. Garcia acknowledged that the Red team utilized some good plays and took risky shots that gave them the edge through three quarters.

“We had some good give-and-go passes and we picked a lot of plays that worked really well for us,” Garcia said. “We made some important shots.”

Yet it all came down to the fourth quarter, which would change the fate of both teams. Paige Hanson began the tense, white-knuckled quarter for the Red team with a give and go to Wahquahboshkuk. A foul on Red would allow Jarrett to attempt two free-throw shots that would give the Black team another point. A sudden side pocket bucket from Scheibler would tie the two teams with 5:44 left in the quarter.

After Scheibler’s goal, Red quickly went for a critical steal and drove the ball back into their end of the court. After a missed shot the Black team gained possession once again after a defensive rebound.

Taylor Augustine sets to shoot the second of two free throws in overtime in a Red Hoopsters game against the Black Hoopsters team. Augustine made both free throws to give her team the lead which hung on to defeat the Black team in overtime 14-13.

Another basket for the Black team and two free throws from Garcia for the Red team would again put the two teams in a head-to-head tie with 12 points a piece and 1:02 left on the game clock. With varying hissing and cheers coming from the audience, a missed basket attempt for each team would end the four quarter of play and send them into overtime tied at 12 points.

An intense two-minute tie-breaker was implemented to decide the victor. Parents, coaches and benched teammates sat fiercely concentrated on the pivotal outcome as players wrestled it out. After missed shots and unsuccessful fast breaks, both teams racked up a series of fouls that would lead to game-deciding free throws. Ramos missed the first set of free throws for the Black, while Augustine banked two buckets for the Red giving the team a two-point advantage. After another Red foul, Black’s Jarrett stepped up to the charity stripe for two shots. Jarrett made the first basket but missed the second, leaving her team with a one-point deficit. With less than three seconds left on the clock a final missed set of free throws for the Black team would give the Red team the overtime victory.

An audible sigh of relief was heard from Red players and family as the girls exited the court after the intense finale.

“It was very tough because of the fouls and all the free throws,” Garcia said. “I was nervous, but we really pulled it out in the end.”