LONGMONT — As much as Jamie Katuna enjoyed regularly routing the competition, she discovered Friday night there’s nothing quite like squeaking out a close game in the final seconds.
The Longmont guard drilled two free throws with three seconds remaining in overtime, capping a 28-point performance while sending the second-ranked Trojans to a 55-53 victory in a bizarre game against Class 4A Northern League foe Windsor.
“Everything you see right now is because we haven’t had a close game yet, we haven’t got to feel this emotion yet,” Katuna said after the student section stormed the floor. “It’s hard to describe, because your emotions are kind of drained when you beat teams by 40.”
A 40-point rout appeared to be in the offing early when Longmont (12-0, 9-0), which got 16 rebounds from Tambre Haddock, burst to a 16-2 lead in a game featuring two of the final three unbeaten teams in the 17-team league.
But Windsor responded with an 18-2 burst and the Wizards (7-3, 6-1) built a nine-point cushion early in the second half. The teams traded key shots in the latter stages, with Windsor’s Megan Wilkinson forcing overtime with a long two-point shot with five seconds to play.
“I thought I was behind the line, so I don’t know,” Wilkinson said. “Actually, I wasn’t even supposed to shoot it, but the girl I was supposed to pass it to wasn’t open.”
A putback by Windsor’s Kelly Graham made it 53-53 with 14 seconds left in overtime. Katuna then drove the lane and was bumped by Kelcey Doddridge and headed to the foul line after a timeout.
“I went over to my coach (Jay Darien) wide-eyed, and he said ‘After Jamie makes these two . . .’ ” Katuna said. “That took the pressure off me.”
Katuna then cleanly stripped the ball, as Doddridge looked for a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Doddridge had 19 points and Wilkinson 15 for Windsor, which absorbed its first in-state loss.
Windsor 15 13 12 11 2 — 53
Longmont 18 4 14 15 4 — 55
Windsor — Doddridge 6 6-6 19, Wilkinson 7 1-2 15, Graham 4 2-2 10, Ash 1 0-0 2, Larson 2 0-0 5, Clark 1 0-0 2, Hazel 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-10 53.
Longmont — Arguello 2 2-2 6, Katuna 12 4-6 28, Haddock 3 1-2 7, Kingsbury 1 0-0 3, Carpenter 4 1-5 9, Meier 0 0-1 0, Thornholt 0 2-2 2, VanThuyne 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 10-18 55.
3-point goals — W, Doddridge, Larson; L, Kingsbury. Total fouls — Windsor 18, Longmont 17.
