The Fort Calhoun girls basketball team was prepared for its last-second, overtime attempt to tie Thursday's game inside the new gymnasium at Tekamah-Herman High School.
Five-foot-11 junior Axelle Bicaba substituted in for the first time for a full-court pass, and her teammates were ready to catch and shoot the ball on the opposite end of the floor.
“This is exactly why we do it at practice,” FCHS coach Marty Plum told the huddle.
Ultimately, the Pioneers got to Becaba's heave, but Bria Bench's foot was on the end line. The host Tigers got the ball back and won, 33-31. The loss came in Calhoun's second-to-last regular season game of the winter. The next night, it lost to Raymond Central, 69-39, too.
First, though, the Plum's Pioneers built a nine-point lead only to see Tekamah come all the way back and force overtime.
FCHS built its first-half advantage during a 9-0, second-period scoring run. Tied 11-11, sophomore Maddy Tinkham made the second of her three 3-pointers for the game.
From there, Dala Drowne and Bria Bench combined for six points to give the Pioneers a 20-11 lead.
After a 4-4 third period, the road team established a nine-point lead — 29-20 — midway through the fourth. Bench scored from inside the arc before Tinkham's final 3 seemingly gave Fort Calhoun an insurmountable lead.
Plum's squad went cold, though, going 0-for-7 from the foul line in the quarter. The Tigers, meanwhile, worked their way back and tied the game during the final minute when Preslee Hansen knocked down a 3-pointer.
Bench made of pair of FCHS free throws during the extra session, but Tekamah-Herman won the game with a last-second stop.
The Raymond Central Mustangs, meanwhile, established a big lead on the Pioneers' home floor a day later and won by 30. The Friday night win pushed their season record to 12-8, while Calhoun closed out the regular season 9-13.
FCHS senior Tess Skelton, playing her last home game, scored 19 points, while Bench had 14.
Coach Plum's squad next competes 7:30 p.m. tonight at North Bend Central in the Class C1 Subdistrict 6 Tournament. The Pioneers face West Point-Beemer with a chance to reach the next round of the postseason.
“Subdistricts are a whole new season,” Plum said. “We just have a one-game season right now, and we need to put together the best 32 minutes that we can right now.”
