When Michelle Jordan found the ball in her hands in overtime at the Elba Tournament at Genesee Community College, instinct had to take over.
Had the junior forward thought about the importance of the shot she was about to take who knows what could have happened.
Instead, she let her natural basketball ability take over and banked it into the hoop, giving Batavia a 41-40 advantage with four seconds left to go in the extra session. The Blue Devils held on to the lead and won a fourth consecutive game, claiming the championship in front of an enthusiastic crowd at GCC.
The basket, which is captured on video below, was a once in a lifetime bounce and opportunity that Jordan capitalized on.
It was a back and forth battle through regulation that saw both teams use strong pressure defense to try and take control of the contest.
The Blue Devils had a 6-4 lead after one period of defensive play.
The Lancers got four points from Katie Newton in the second quarter and led 17-13 at the half.
The lead kept changing hands in the second half with Elba taking a two point lead on a Rachael Cook basket midway through the fourth quarter.
Batavia and Elba kept trading leads when the Lancers took a two point lead with just after a minute left on a Newton foul shot.
Brittany Mazurkiewicz tied the game at 33 with a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining.
Jaycee Shirk blocked a shot at the other end, Batavia turned the ball over, Elba missed a jumper and the Blue Devils missed a half court heave at the buzzer and the game went to overtime.
Cassie Engle gave the Lancers a lead with a bucket early in overtime and Shirk gave Batavia a one point lead with a basket and foul shot a little over a minute late.
Kristen Klein - who had another big game with eight points - made it a three point contest with a basket with 1:42 left in overtime.
Missy Call hit a free throw and Engle tied things up with a basket, with just under a minute left.
Mazurkiewicz hit one of two free throws before the Lancers took the lead back on a pair of Newton free throws. There was 18 seconds left in overtime at that point.
Mazurkiewicz missed a shot, that was tipped towards out of bounds on a rebound attempt by Elba's Sarah Schwartzmeyer. But Schwartzmeyer saved it before going out of bounds and tossed it back into the middle of the paint, where she hoped either Julie Marshall or Cook would grab it.
The pass went right into the hands of Jordan, just a few feet from the basket, and she put it right in to give Batavia a 41-40 lead with under five seconds left. The Lancers missed a shot at the buzzer, giving the Blue Devils their second straight tournament title early on in the season.
Chelsie Pangrazio (12 points) and Newton (8) joined Albion's Page Golden and Batavia's Shirk (9 points, 3 blocks) and Jordan (6 points) on the all-tournament team.
Mazurkiewicz scored 10 points and handed out five assists to earn her second straight tournament MVP award.
Elba is 1-1 and will host Kendall on Wednesday. Batavia is now 4-0 and will host Monroe County League powerhouse Pittsford Mendon on Tuesday.
