Jill Boswell Goes Beast Mode, Hadley DeFreece Hits Buzzer Beating Three

Jill Boswell went beast mode with 15 boards and Hadley DeFreece hit a buzzer beating three pointer to lift NEN past North Nodaway 48-45 in double overtime Friday at Northwest to secure the third place trophy after both Baylie Busby and Dalanie Auffert had fouled out.

Northeast ran into Nodaway Valley, and the eventual tournament champions beat Northeast 49-36 to hand them their first loss. The Bluejays held down the Marriott girls and only allowed one 3-pointer, but Ava Graham ate them alive in the post and Paige Hanson also hurt them. North Nodaway went into a funk against St. Joseph Christian and lost 52-18 against the tournament runner-ups.

Still in a funk from that game, North Nodaway dug itself into a hole against the Bluejays as Auffert, Boswell, and the Bluejays controlled the boards in the early phase of the game. Hadley DeFreece hit a 3-pointer, Baylie Busby scored off a drive to make it 5-0, and North Nodaway burned its first timeout two minutes into the game. Lauren Herndon cut it to 5-2, but nothing worked at first as Hadley followed with another triple and Dalanie Auffert got a putback to make it 10-2 before Lily Blaine cut it to 10-4 after Kila Miller got an offensive board off the bench.

NEN was running a triangle and two on Lauren Herndon and Saryn Brown and the Mustangs were faceguarding Baylie Busby. Northeast had an 11-7 edge on the boards in the first quarter. But both Auffert and Busby had two fouls at that point. Without one of their most physical players in Angie Parker, who broke her nose in the DeKalb game, North Nodaway was struggling to buy a board against the Bluejays.

North Nodaway hung around as Saryn Brown finally got free and hit a pullup to make it 12-6, but then Dalanie Auffert scored from inside and Busby followed with a steal to make it 16-6 with 3:28 left in the first half. Mya Hansen and Lauren Herndon cut the Mustang deficit to 17-10 as they kept hanging around despite NEN’s rebounding advantage, but Busby got a steal and drive with 5 seconds left to raise the Bluejay lead to 19-10 at the half.

Northeast controlled the boards 18-13 at the break, but despite Busby’s play at the end of the first half, it was North Nodaway who started controlling the boards in the second half. Busby picked up her third foul, as did Auffert, and the Bluejay lead began to dwindle as Jackie Wray got a putback, and then Addalea Barcus added a free throw and hit from the right side to make it 19-15. Busby got a steal to make it 21-15, but then Saryn Brown hit a guarded three from the right wing and then Dalanie Auffert picked up her fourth foul trying to guard Brown. With Auffert on the bench, North Nodaway suddenly found open driving lanes and Addalea Barcus’ drive cut it to 21-20 before Busby got a 3-point play with 1.5 seconds left in the third to make it 23-20.

North Nodaway, however, had cut into their rebounding deficit, with NEN having 22 boards and North Nodaway with 19. NEN was forcing passes into either Busby or Auffert in the post, but North Nodaway was adjusting in the second half; the passes to the post that were there in the first half were not there in the second, as North Nodaway got a lot of tips in the second half.

Addalea Barcus got her third foul and Lacy Riley her fourth to start the fourth, but North Nodaway kept coming as Lauren Herndon scored off a drive to make it 23-22. Busby’s free throws made it 25-22, but then an officiating gaffe occurred which could have affected the game. Saryn Brown took on Jill Boswell and drew a shooting foul on her, but the referees gave Baylie Busby her fourth foul instead of a foul on Boswell, and Saryn hit both free throws to cut it to 25-24. Dalanie Auffert came back, but picked up her fifth foul battling with Addalea Barcus for a rebound; subsequently, Saryn Brown got a drive and hit one of two to tie it at 25 with 3:13 left.

Busby’s free throws put the Bluejays back in front 27-25, but then Addalea Barcus got loose inside and got a pass from Saryn Brown to knot it back up again with 1:37 left.

From there, Northeast froze the ball until 13 seconds were left on the clock before using a timeout. They tried to set up a drive to the basket, but Sasha Deardorff was called for a moving screen with 5.6 seconds left and the Mustangs got the ball back with a chance to win. Lauren Herndon got a runner that would have won it, but her shot bounced twice off the rim before bouncing out, forcing the first overtime.

By the time regulation ended, North Nodaway had completely wiped out Northeast’s rebounding advantage.

Early free throws by the Mustangs put them up 30-28 in the first overtime, but Hadley DeFreece’s triple put the Bluejays back in front. Saryn Brown’s drive put North Nodaway back in front 31-30, but Sasha Deardorff put the Bluejays back in front 33-31 with another triple after Baylie Busby kept a possession alive with an offensive board. But Lauren Herndon got a runner to go down this time with 1:32 left to tie it up again at 33.

Brianna Meyer missed a shot that would have put the Bluejays back in front. Sasha Deardorff got an offensive board, but Lily Blaine stole the ball for North Nodaway. Lauren Herndon missed from the left wing, and Jill Boswell got the defensive board with 58 seconds left in the first overtime, allowing Northeast to freeze the ball again and try for the last shot.

But once again, the move almost backfired as Sasha Deardorff was fouled and missed both free throws with 18 seconds left. But Addalea Barcus and Lauren Herndon both missed shots at the end of the first overtime to keep it tied.

Free throws by Lauren Herndon and Saryn Brown put the Mustangs in front 36-33 to start the second overtime, but then Mylee Wilmes scored her first three points all night, a triple from the top of the key, to knot it back up at 36. Baylie Busby got a steal to break the tie, and then Sasha Deardorff drew Jackie Wray’s fifth foul and this time hit both free throws to make it two possessions at 40-36 with 1:49 left.

But then disaster nearly struck the Bluejays as Baylie Busby picked up her fifth foul with 1:34 left trying to steal the ball from Lily Blaine, and the Mustang freshman hit both free throws to cut it to 40-38. Hadley DeFreece drove, missed a layup, but rebounded her own miss to put it back in to make it 42-38, but Lauren Herndon kept the pressure on with a drive and two free throws with 58 seconds to cut it to 42-40. Jill Boswell, who had not scored all night, hit two free throws to make it 44-40, but Herndon drove again and hit both free throws to make it 44-42.

With 40 seconds left, Jill Boswell made one free throw, but missed the second, opening the barn door for North Nodaway. With a defender draped all over her, Saryn Brown dropped a 3-pointer from 30 feet out to tie it up at 45 with 22 seconds left.

Jill Boswell tried to drive the paint, but Lauren Herndon knocked it loose and a tieup went to the Bluejays with 7.7 seconds left. This time, Brianna Meyer got into the paint, kicked it into the far right corner, and Hadley DeFreece hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Bluejays the win. It was Brianna Meyer’s only assist of the whole game, but it was a big one.

For NEN, Baylie Busby had 16, Hadley DeFreece 14, Dalanie Auffert 7, Sasha Deardorff 5, and Mylee Wilmes and Jill Boswell 3 each.

Dalanie Auffert had 2 blocks and Hadley DeFreece 1.

Jill Boswell had 15 boards. Dalanie Auffert had 9, Baylie Busby 7, Hadley DeFreece 3, and Hayley Yost and Sasha Deardorff 2 each.

Baylie Busby had 3 assists. Sasha Deardorff and Jill Boswell had 2, and Dalanie Auffert, Blair Nelson, Mylee Wilmes, and Brianna Meyer had 1.

Baylie Busby had 7 tips. Hadley DeFreece had 3, and Brianna Meyer 1.

Baylie Busby had 6 steals. Jill Boswell had 3, Hadley DeFreece 2, and Dalanie Auffert, Hayley Yost, and Brianna Meyer had 1.

For North Nodaway, Saryn Brown had 16, Lauren Herndon 14, Addalea Barcus 7, Lily Blaine 4, and Mya Hansen and Jackie Wray 2 each.

Jackie Wray had 1 block.

Saryn Brown and Addalea Barcus had 9 boards. Jackie Wray and Lauren Herndon had 7, and Kila Miller, Lily Blaine, and Lacy Riley 2 each.

Lauren Herndon had 3 assists. Lacy Riley had 2, and Saryn Brown, Kila Miller, and Addalea Barcus 1 each.

Saryn Brown had 8 tips. Lauren Herndon had 5, Jackie Wray had 4, and Kila Miller, Addalea Barcus, Lacy Riley, and Lily Blaine had 1 each.

Lauren Herndon had 5 steals. Lacy Riley had 3, and Jackie Wray and Lily Blaine had 1 each.