Rasmussen buzzer-beater lifts Spartans to victory
ELK HORN (Jan. 15) -- Some folks thought she traveled. Others claimed she released the ball after the buzzer. Maybe both.
None of it matters, though, because freshman Mollie Rasmussen’s last-second 3-pointer will forever go in the books as a walk-off game-winner for the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team.
Rasmussen’s third go-ahead triple in the final three minutes provided a thrilling end to Tuesday’s Rolling Valley Conference matchup as the Spartans outlasted Ar-We-Va 59-57 in a battle for second place in the league standings.
The final minute was full of twists and turns, including Ellie Schultes hitting the second of two free throws to put Exira-EHK up 56-55 with :14.5 remaining.
The clock never stopped the rest of the way as the lead changed hands two final times, starting with Emilee Danner’s nice drive and dish to Emily Hinners for a Rocket layup with about seven seconds left.
Out of timeouts, the Spartans quickly inbounded the ball. Schultes dribbled past midcourt and fired a pass toward the right corner to Rasmussen, who initially bobbled the ball, recovered and got off a clean shot as the horn sounded.
Swish.
Rasmussen’s teammates quickly surrounded her in celebration as the officials counted the basket.
“I just threw it up,” said Rasmussen, who quickly corrected herself. “I actually grabbed it and then shot it... (My teammates) were just grabbing me and I was like, ‘That actually just happened.’”
Exira-EHK, which let a 21-6 first-half advantage slip away, survived 14 second-half lead changes to extend its winning streak to seven games, improving to 12-4 overall and 9-2 in the RVC. The Rockets dropped to 9-4 and 8-3, respectively.
Two of the Spartans’ top three scorers were freshmen. Macy Emgarten tallied 14 of her 16 points in the first half and Rasmussen scored all of her 11 after the break. Sophomore point guard Tatum Grubbs also scored 11, including 6-of-6 free throws, before fouling out with :19.5 remaining.
Danner, Ar-We-Va’s all-state senior, scored 12 of her 20 points during a second-quarter hot streak but was otherwise limited by the face-guarding defense of Schultes. Sophomore Jadeyn Smith, though, had a huge game for the Rockets, scoring 16 of her game-high 24 in the second half.