All-time great Reggie Miller once scored 8 points in 11 seconds during game one of the 1955 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Pepperdine women’s basketball came close, hitting three consecutive shots from downtown to steal a comeback win from Portland on Jan. 7.
The finish earned the squad a No.6 spot on ESPN’s Sports Center the following day.
With 32 seconds left, senior guard Katie Menton sunk her second three-pointer of the night to bring the Waves within three points. Then, with three seconds left, Menton nailed a deep three to tie the game up, 63-63.
To top that, on the next play junior guard Shay Cooney-Williams managed to steal the Pilot’s inbound pass at mid-court, and then proceeded to swish a shot from a step inside the half court line.
“There really wasn’t a set play,” Cooney-Williams said. “Katie had just made a three, and the game was tied so we didn’t want them to throw it long and be able to score. My assignment was to stay back but also not allow anyone to cut to the ball. When I saw the inbounds pass get tipped, I jumped to meet the ball to assure the other team wouldn’t get it.”
“Once the ball was in my hands, I saw I had time left so I just decided to shoot it.”
Conney-Williams’ split-second decision ended up earning her team a victory, and much more than she had ever intended.
“[My shot] ended up making it to No.2 the next morning on Sports Center,” Cooney-Williams said. “I never even got to see that one, I only knew because my mom and friends texted me that morning. That was really exciting because it’s not something that happens to everyone.”
She appeared poised and collected as the shot left her hands, as if she had no doubt in her mind it would swish through the net as it did. When asked about it, however, she revealed that it actually had not been a specific, drawn-up play.
“I have to admit I did not think I was going to make it,” Texas native Cooney-Williams said. “I was getting my mind ready for overtime. Some of my teammates knew that it was going in and were excited before it even went it.”
For the team as a whole, this season has not been an easy one. The Waves have had other tough wins, as well as some tough losses.
The team gritted out a six point win against Santa Clara on Dec. 31, after being down by 20-plus points.
“So far, this season it has been a rollercoaster ride as coach Julie calls it,” Cooney Williams said. “We just have to remain consistent in our play and continue to fight.
“We are capable of winning the WCC tournament and getting a spot in NCAA tournament, we just have to show up to every game ready to play and ready to battle.”
With the stunningly dramatic Portland finish under their belts, the team hopes to move forward from this moment, and continue to win games.
“That game can definitely motivate in the sense that we knew what we are capable of,” Cooney-Williams said. “We are more than capable of doing something like that again, not making a half court buzzer beater, but fighting until the end to win.”
Since then, the women’s basketball team (9-8, 4-2) has marked down an 80-56 loss to BYU, and a 67-57 win over Santa Clara.
