I tell my girls “Why not us?” and they just go out and give it all they have.”

Coach Tony Riley

Heart-stopping action. A big deficit. A monumental comeback. Unshakable confidence. Extreme effort. Victory. All these words describe the Lady Jackets thrilling 36-35 win over the Howe Lady Bulldogs on Feb. 19. The win sent Mineola through to the regional tournament and a date with the undefeated Chapel Hill Red Devils.

One characteristic of championship teams is the ability to prevail when they are disadvantaged or not performing as accustomed. So it was with Coach Riley’s squad against Howe. Could they prevail when their most prolific scorer, Sabria Dean, struggled from the floor? Could they give up an average four inches in height between the two starting lineups and prevail? Could they hold the Lady Bulldogs nearly scoreless in the final period after Howe had put up 20 points in the third quarter? Could they erase a 10-point deficit in the final minutes?

Above all else, the game was a lesson in perseverance. The physicality of the game made the competition even sharper. Howe started with their strength and took the ball inside to secure a 4-0 start. A Jessiah Riley 3-pointer and a foul shot by Meghan Brewington tied the score with 3:00 to play in the quarter.

Two quick Howe scores, preceding and following a Mineola time out, made the score 8-4. The Lady Bulldogs added a free throw, while Mineola converted an offensive rebound courtesy of Jaycee Whitehead to make the score 9-6 at the quarter break.

Mineola pressed early and forced seven Howe turnovers. The Lady Bulldog defense, however, suffocated the Lady Jackets in the offensive zone. Howe junior Jenna Honore was attached to Sabria Dean all night. The Lady Jackets stand-out scorer was contested at every turn and shot only 5-28 from the field.

The second quarter action was tight. Howe went up by five points after yet another inside bucket by junior Ally Harvey. Mineola was wearing out the offensive perimeter in their possession, but could not break an open look free. Dean got untracked by taking a rebound the length of the floor to score. She followed that with a nice jumper in the lane to draw Mineola within one point.

Each team struggled to create scoring in the second quarter. A beautiful assist from Dean to Alyssa Cannon and two Dean free throws put Mineola up 14-13 at the half.

The third quarter belonged to Howe. They outscored Mineola 20-9, putting up two inside scores and hitting four 3-pointers. Riley, Brewington and Butler scored from the field for the Jackets, with Dean adding a free throw. It was 33-23 after three quarters of play. All the momentum was with the Lady Bulldogs.

The final period started with an offensive foul call against Dean. Howe converted one free throw to make it an 11-point lead.

Then, it all changed. Tahjae Black tipped a pass away and chased it down for a turnover. Black’s defensive play may very well have been the tipping point of the game. Dean then scored on a drive. Coach Riley whistled for a time out.

After exchanging turnovers, Black put back an offensive rebound for a score and made it a 3-point play as she was fouled. With 4:48 remaining, Mineola was down by seven.

Mineola called on their old friend, the full court press, to lead the way down the stretch. Successive scores by Black on breakaways pulled the Lady Jackets within two points, 34-32 with 3:15 remaining. Six Howe forced turnovers in the final quarter cost them the game.

Riley stole the ball in the backcourt on Howe’s next possession but was whistled for traveling after the steal. Her exuberance and frustration carried her away, as she was whistled for a technical foul for slamming the ball to the floor. Howe hit one free throw, scoring their second and only points of the fourth quarter. This highlighted the incredible defensive effort exerted by the Lady Jackets in the fourth quarter.

Dean drove the lane and scored to make it 35-34 Howe, with 1:56 to play. A wild sequence of play spanning both ends of the court resulted in Mineola inbounding the ball into the forecourt with 1:29 left. Mineola’s shot missed, but Black pulled down the rebound. It was the key rebound of the night. Mineola called time out.

With the clock under a minute the inbounds play went from Dean to Cyndi Butler to Riley to Black to Riley and back to Dean. Dean faked the drive, pulled up and nailed a mid-range jumper. Mineola had the lead 36-35 with 21 seconds on the clock.

Howe advanced the ball into the forecourt following a time out and looked inside for the score. Sophomore Katie Grogan drove the lane but lost the ball out of bounds. Mineola successfully inbounded the ball three times in the backcourt with Dean being intentionally fouled each time. A final half-court shot by Howe was amiss and Mineola recorded an unforgettable victory.

Coach Tony Riley summarized the epic win: “Just unbelievable. We had one of our worst offensive performances in a very long time. but defensively we came up huge down the stretch. Tiara Stephens, Jaycee Whitehead and Alyssa Cannon were outstanding defensively against those big girls. They were a big reason for our win. I tell my girls ‘Why not us?’ and they just go out and give it all they have.”

[follow their path through the playoffs]