Three points down and 10 seconds on the clock, the lady cagers threw everything they had at the basket.
It was nearly enough.
With one second left, Coach Tim Wasilk called a time out for one more play. Drawing a foul as the buzzer sounded, Jennifer Johnston received a free throw.
Johnston missed, though, and Clarkston lost 34-37 in their Dec. 6 game against Pontiac Northern, bringing their overall record, 2-1.
‘Tonight showed who’s going to step up and who’s going to be our leaders and make the plays,? Wasilk said.
The game began with Pontiac Northern taking the lead, but Clarkston quickly caught up.
Johnston brought Clarkston into the lead with the end of the first quarter only two minutes away.
Northern picked up the lead by one point by the time the first quarter ended.
Clarkston remained trailing by a few points throughout the second and third quarter.
With the end of the third quarter near, Northern widened the gap and began the last quarter with a seven point lead over Clarkston, with the score 23-30.
Alyssa Swindlehurst began the fourth quarter with a two point throw through the hoop.
The Lady Wolves had picked up momentum and as the last two minutes neared, the team closed the gap even more.
Swindlehurst and Taylor Daugherty scored four more points for Clarkston, leaving the team behind by one point.
Northern’s Shannon Smith got the ball and took the opportunity to score two more points.
‘Northern did a pretty good job on both ends of the floor and executed their game plan. We have a lot of new faces and we are really working hard to get our girls to understand how to play harder and execute on both ends of the floor.?
The high scorers for Clarkston were Swindlehurst with 13 points, Johnston with 10 points, and Daugherty with seven points.
JV won their game against Pontiac Northern 51-20.
The Lady Wolves will play West Bloomfield on Friday. Varsity will play at 7 p.m., following JV’s game at 5:30 p.m. West Bloomfield High School is located at 4925 Orchard Lake Road.