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NORWALK, Conn. – Shania Osborne’s free throw with 5.1 seconds left in double overtime gave the Lady Stags a 48-47 victory over the Hoyas Sunday and the Division 3 title in the Norwalk Recreation and Parks Girls Basketball League. Division 3 is made up of seventh- and eighth-grade players.
Osborne scored 16 points to lead the top-seeded Lady Stags (10-2). Amanda Beckwith had a brilliant 28-point effort for the third-seeded Hoyas (9-4).
The Lady Stags built a big early lead and were comfortably ahead in the third quarter when the Hoyas started their comeback. Each team took leads late in regulation and in overtime, but neither could hold on to them. The Lady Stags, with just five eligible players, had only four in the game after one fouled out with 1:32 left in regulation. They finished with three players after another fouled out with 1:24 left in the second overtime.
Osborne scored nine points in overtime, and had all of her team’s points in the second overtime. The score was tied at 34 at the end of regulation and at 41 after the first overtime. A basket by the Hoyas' Vanessa Giraldo with seven seconds left in the first overtime extended the game.
Two baskets by Osborne gave the Lady Stags a 45-41 lead early in the second overtime. A three-pointer by Beckwith started one final rally for the Hoyas, who took a 47-45 lead on a basket by Beckwith with 50 seconds remaining. Osborne, a 6-foot-2 seventh-grader, hit three free throws in the final 35 seconds to help her team pull out the victory. The Lady Stags' Megan Blagdon and Alex Whalen also hit key baskets in the first overtime after the Lady Stags fell behind by three points.
The Lady Stags, coached by Alyssa McElveen, include Shania Osborne, Brittany McCrae, Arianna Eason, Labria Darden, Alex Whalen, Megan Blagdon and Katie Weber.
