WILMINGTON — Archmere’s basketball game at Ursuline on Feb. 1 literally came down to the last second, and it was a joyful beginning to February for the Auks. Lauren Kim hit a 16-foot runner as time expired to lift the Auks past the Raiders, 38-36.
Archmere opened the game on a 12-0 run, and they held the lead until early in the fourth quarter, when the Raiders tied it up at 30. The Auks scored primarily inside, and defensively they kept Ursuline from getting many second chances.
After falling behind by a dozen to open the night, the Raiders scored 10 of the remaining 12 points in the first and trailed by four. It was 21-15 Auks at the half, and Archmere opened it up again in the third. The Auks scored seven of the first nine points in the quarter, with Brynn Bastian-Pastore’s baseline runner making it 28-17 with 3:09 to go,
But the Raiders rebounded. Hannah Kelley laid one off the glass after taking a pass from Ella Gordon. A turnover by Archmere resulted in a three-pointer for Ellie Carter-Soriano. Kelley scored down low again, and after another turnover, Chamira Marshall-Brothers drove through traffic and somehow found the net. The Raiders had cut the deficit to just two, thrilling the Ursuline students in attendance.
Lucy Oliver made a pair of free throws to end the Raiders’ run at nine, but Kelley went to work again. She sandwiched two short field goals around a pair of missed free throws by the Auks, and the Raiders had fought back to tie. But the Auks had another run left in them.
After the Raiders missed on two opportunities to take the lead, Kim took a pass while cutting to the net and put the Auks back on top with four minutes to go. Oliver sliced through two Raiders for a layup the next time down the court, and she struck again on the next possession after taking a precision pass from Brigid Hamberger. The lead was back to six at 36-30
Kelley cut two points off that advantage with 1:25 to go with a pair of free throws. The Raiders regained possession on a backcourt violation, and Abigail Grillo was fouled on a third-chance shot with 44 seconds left. She made one free throw to bring Ursuline back to within one possession.
A missed free throw by the Auks on a one-and-one helped set up the ending. The Raiders called a timeout with 17 seconds to go, and Sophia Filipowski tied the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key with the clock running down. After another timeout, with 4.4 seconds on the clock, Kim took the inbounds pass from Lydia Scarpaci and ran up the right side of the court. She let the ball go a split-second before the clock hit all zeroes, and the ball hit the rim and the glass before falling through, setting off a jubilant reaction on the Archmere sideline.
Oliver led the Auks with 14 points, and Kim had 10. Archmere (7-5) travels to Wilmington Charter on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
For the Raiders, Kelley had 16, and Ella Gordon added seven. Ursuline fell to 8-4. They meet Padua on Saturday at noon at the Chase Fieldhouse as part of the SL24 UnLocke the Light Classic.