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Welch propels Lady Gators to first title

Published Wednesday, March 10, 2010 11:54 AM

By Rob Gantt
The Gazette

Aleighsa Welch admitted both of the last two makes in the game of her life were lucky bounces.

Or maybe the Goose Creek star just had the magic touch, because that’s more what it looked like.

The junior forward poured in a season-high 36 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the Lady Gators to their first-ever Class AAAA state championship. Her free throw with 5.8 seconds left was the difference in a 64-63 win over defending champion Spring Valley Friday night at Colonial Life Arena.

“I said last week (the Lower State victory) was the best feeling I’ve ever had but this tops that by a thousand,” said Welch, who also got an auspicious bounce on a 15-footer from the baseline with 7.8 seconds left to tie it.

That one had just enough arc to clip the top part of the rim, spin up, hit the glass and fall through to make it 63-63.

“That was a lucky bounce too,” she said.

The game-winner was off center a little but was just soft enough to kiss the glass and fall in, capping a wild finish and night of comebacks for the Lady Gators, who trailed by as many as 21 in the first half.

“I thought I had missed it,” Welch said.

She was at the free-throw line after Spring Valley had trouble inbounding the ball and sophomore Asia Dozier called a timeout her team didn’t have. Welch’s first shot missed short and left.

“It’s unfortunate for them but we put ourselves in position to be there,” Goose Creek coach Tim Baldwin said. “We made them use all their timeouts and she just made a sophomore mistake.”

After the foul shots, Tyshonda Hawkins missed a foul shot with 4.6 seconds left and the Lady Vikings could only get off a half-court heave that had no chance and Goose Creek’s players stormed the floor after capping a 27-1 season.

The win was their 18th straight and knocked the Lady Vikings off their pedestal. The High School Sports Report had already labeled Spring Valley, which won last year’s state title by 31 points, as the Dream Team.

“The girls worked very hard for this and they deserve it,” Goose Creek coach Tim Baldwin said.

It was the second time this season that Goose Creek (27-1) beat Spring Valley by a point. The Lady Gators defeated the Lady Vikings 52-51 in the second game of the season but entered the championship as an underdog.

“Nobody, blogs, radio, TV or whatever gave us a chance to beat them,” Baldwin said. “They kept talking about them missing two or three players but we beat their best tonight. We beat them with all their players.”

The Lady Vikings were without Dozier in the first game and didn’t get their full roster together until right before the playoffs. Dozier led the Lady Vikings with 26 points in the championship game.

Spring Valley’s closest playoff game was a 23-point win over Greenwood in the Upper State finals.

And on cue, the Lady Vikings hit Goose Creek with haymakers the first 10 minutes of the game, racing out to a 35-14 lead. They connected on eight of the first nine and 13 of 19 during the torrid opening stretch, while the Lady Gators were 7 of 18 from the field.

The first comeback started with a pair of free throws by Ashley Fields with 4:48 left in the first half and got some steam with Welch’s four-point playoff off the glass.

By the break, the deficit was down to 35-30 – Goose Creek hit six of its last nine of the half while Spring Valley was 0 for 6 - and the Lady Gators scored the first eight points of the second half before Spring Valley ended the 24-0 run on Shaquita Walker’s layup with 4:51 left in the third quarter.

It was 48-48 to start the final quarter and Spring Valley opened up on an 11-2 run to regain control again.

But only until Welch decided she’d seen enough – again.

“I never doubt our abilities,” she said. “We’ve been down a bunch of times this year. We don’t want to come from behind but we dug ourselves a big hole and were able to pull it out.”

Spring Valley was 22 for 51 from the field for the game and Goose Creek was 26 of 59.

Welch’s three-point play began Goose Creek’s final surge in the final 3:33 and she eventually tied it up with her shot from the baseline. In between, the Lady Gators ratcheted up the defense to aid in the golden final push.

Senior Deandra Wright had two steals that led to buckets by N’Dea Bryant and Welch that made it 59-57.

After the Walker made it 61-57 with a driving layup, Welch answered right back to make it 61-59 with 2:01 left.

Dozier hit one of two free throws with 53 seconds left to push Spring Valley’s lead to three but Hawkins scored off an inbounds play with 37 seconds left to make it 62-61.

On the other end, Xylina McDaniel made just one of two free throws with 18 seconds left, leaving the door open for the hot-handed Welch.

“She was frustrated, and so was I, that she was not selected player of the year,” Baldwin said. “She came out, poured her heart out and had a huge game.”

Welch and her teammates have the gold medals to prove it.

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