VHSL Class 3 Girls

CARROLL COUNTY 51, MERIDIAN 47

With the game in the balance and her team’s season at stake, Jaelyn Hagee, who had converted just two of 10 field goals in a back-and-forth matchup with Meridian, suddenly found herself alone on the foul line with 10 seconds left and her Carroll County team clinging to a 48-47 lead.

To add pressure to the cooker, her situation called for a one-and-one. Miss, and Meridian could drive down the length of the floor and score to win the game.

“I knew it would come down to free throws,” said Hagee after the game, a surprising statement considering that only two teams had gotten within a dozen points of her Cavaliers all season.

It didn’t matter now. Hagee calmly bounced the ball four times, looked up and drained the first shot, earning her one more attempt. 49-47.

Her next shot was tried and true, and as Ashton Richardson stole the long inbounds pass from Meridian, the Cavaliers pulled off a victory in one of the more competitive games of this season’s VHSL playoffs.

Meridian coach Chris Carrico agreed. “This was one of the best high school games I’ve ever been part of. High caliber. It doesn’t matter if its 3A, 4A, 5A, or even 6A. It went back and forth the whole game and our girls were very resilient in a hostile environment.”

While no hostility was apparent, the Carroll County fans did travel well for the event, sending buses full of supporters up Rte. 360, and totaling well into the several hundreds, creating a roar worthy of a group twice its size.

Before Hagee’s heroics, Alyssa Ervin, the game’s leading scorer with 19, had missed the first free throw of a one-and-one opportunity, only to find herself with the ball in her hands just seconds later when the rebound turned into an errant pass.

“I felt so bad about missing the free throw, but saw where the pass was going, so I ran over and stole it.” Ervin’s pass to Hagee set up the game-winning free throws.

While admitting that his team’s win was “no thing of beauty,” Carroll coach Marc Motley finished by explaining the green CT ribbons worn by the Cavaliers. “CT” is Charles “Chuck” Thompson, former Carroll principal, who is recuperating at Duke University Hospital after suffering complications from a lung transplant in 2017.

Megan Trembley, Elizabeth Creed, and Zoraida Icabalceta all scored in double figures for the Mustangs (24-2). Last year, Meridian won the Class 3 title, and as Carrico noted, “we feel that we’re moving our program in the right direction and doing it the right way.”

CARROLL COUNTY 51, MERIDIAN 47

CARROLL COUNTY (23-1) Ervin 19, Easter 4, Richardson 9, Hagee 9, Alley 8, Gardner 0, Crotts 2. Totals 19 10-17 51.

MERIDIAN (24-2) Icabelceta 11, Jones 9, Paradiso 2, Me. Trembley 12, Creed 11, Ma. Trembley 2. Totals 17 9-16 47.

Three pointers: Carroll County 3 (Ervin 2, Hagee). Meridian 4 (Creed 3, Icabelceta)