BOULDER — Oliana Squires had Sand Creek within seconds of another Class 4A championship appearance. She had lit up Evergreen for a career-high 43 points Thursday night, tying a state tournament record for a girls game, and her team was up by one point.
But Evergreen’s Logan Newhall had something to say about that.
The 5-foot-6 senior, who had missed all three of her shots, scored over a 6-3 defender as the buzzer sounded, giving the Cougars a 71-70 overtime victory at the Coors Events Center.
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“It’s now or never,” Newhall said of the moment before she took the game-winning shot. “I was going down the court and I saw this big girl (in front of the basket) and I thought, ‘I might as well just shoot it now.’ “
(24-3) advanced to the championship by ending 2015 state runner-up Sand Creek‘s (24-2) season.
“We executed what I drew up at the end, and I said to not be afraid (to shoot),” Cougars coach Amy Bahl said. “(Newell) had been shooting a few layups and (Sand Creek’s height) got in her head and she stopped shooting.”
Squires, a started the game off on a tear, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half. She splashed her sixth triple with 24 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime after pledge Liah Davis missed a point-blank shot.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted to, but I knew I had to be there for me team and I had to step up,” Squires said.
Morgan Dzakowic: 303-954-1275, mdzakowic@denverpost.com or @morgandzak
