For the second time in two years, the Lady Lancers of Elba are the Section V Class D2 champions, beating Andover in a tight game, 47-42.
It was one of those games that could have gone either way until there were less than 10 seconds on the clock and Elba had possession of the ball.
Coach Tom Redband gave a lot of credit to the win to his lone senior on the team, captain Emily Reynolds. Reynolds was the tournament MVP, giving her back-to-back MVP titles.
"(The key was) having Reynolds in there as the two-time MVP," Redband said. "The girls were able to keep their poise and take care of the ball and get some stops on defense. If you’re going to win, you want to get those stops."
Reynolds said her role was to keep her teammates calm and remind them to "play Elba basketball."
"My heart was beating fast almost the whole game but I didn’t doubt my girls for one second," Reynolds said. "I had full confidence in us. We prepared really hard."
Championships in her junior and senior seasons means a lot to her, said Reynolds, who scored 23 points.
"I hold it really dear to my heart," Reynolds said. "All of these girls are my family and it means everything to be able to win and have another championship before I graduate. I don’t want my season to end. I want to extend it as long as possible."
Maddie Muehlig scored 11 points and hit five of six free-throw attempts, including two shots to help seal the win with less than a second left to play.
Leah Bezon scored six points.
Redband said he and the girls are proud to represent Elba.
"The girls do that tremendously," Redband said. "They play the right way. They’re good sports. They’re nice people. It means a lot to me."
