Just 35.9 seconds remained in Thursday night’s Iowa Class 4A girls basketball semifinal between Dallas Center-Grimes High School and Norwalk High School. DCG sophomore center Ava Smid had just scored a quick two points, cutting the lead to four, when a Norwalk move gave the ball back to DCG. The Mustangs hadn’t led the entire game and DCG coach Adam Jones called a timeout.
DCG guard Leah Brauch stood at the Norwalk baseline, ready to inbound the ball. The whistle blew and Smid made her move.
Rushing to his left on a Tessa Jones screen at the top of the key, Smid escaped from Norwalk’s Braylyn Birmingham and cut between two other defenders. Brauch’s pass met her just left of the basket. Layup made, two points notched.
“I didn’t really think so,” Smid said Athletics a day after his team’s stunning 47-42 victory at Casey’s Center in Des Moines. “I just played.”
The clock doesn’t stop after a high school basketball goal. Norwalk’s Makenna Roeder prepared for an inside pass and pushed the ball toward Birmingham. Birmingham led both teams with 26 points, but couldn’t control the ball and Smid was there to get it. Another layup made, two more points added, clock still running, game tied at 42.
The teams reset as Roeder returned to the baseline for another comeback. Once again, Birmingham ran ahead of her. Roader pushed the ball forward. There was no pumping this time. Instead, Smid’s hand was already there, catching the ball in the air. She did a dribble, a spin, another lay-ups and another two points. Secure lead.
“I can see how any 15- or 16-year-old player can get caught up in what’s going on,” Jones said of the team’s energy after calling a timeout following Smid’s burst. “…At first it was kind of chaos there for a minute, and all the players were excited. We kind of had to pull ourselves together to realize there were still a few seconds left on the clock.”
Smid was fouled on the shot and missed his free throw. It didn’t matter. She had just lost six points in 14.5 seconds, giving DCG a two-point lead, and left Casey’s Center in shock. Social networks will soon be too.
“It was a blur. I didn’t even know what the score was at that point because the game was moving so fast,” Smid said. “Finally when I got that and one, I looked at the score and realized we were winning.”
Birmingham got into the paint, rushing to tie the game, but missed a jumper. Smid, fittingly, went down with the rebound and was fouled again for another free throw. She missed it and the teams started trading fouls and timeouts. Brauch made a free throw with 5.4 seconds left after a technical foul on Norwalk, then added two more on another foul with 3.5 seconds left to seal the victory for DCG.
Smid finished with a team-high 16 points, along with six steals and five rebounds.
By Friday morning, life was mostly back to normal for Smid. Aside from “a few obnoxious people” shouting his name in the hallways, it was just another day of classes and practice. After all, Thursday was only the semifinal game. The championship match with Carlisle takes place on Saturday. Smid had no hesitation when asked what his expectations were.
“To win,” she said with the kind of wry smile only a teenager could muster.
As long as there’s at least half a minute on the clock for Smid to work with, anything is possible.
