Morgan Smith’s 3-pointer sends Wallace State’s women to double OT victory over No. 14 Shelton State, into ACCC title game

BAY MINETTE – Wallace State women’s sophomore forward Morgan Smith may never hit a bigger shot than the game-winner she nailed Friday in the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/Region 22 tournament.
Smith’s acrobatic 3-pointer as time expired in double overtime sent Wallace State to an exhilarating 89-88 victory over top-seeded Shelton State in the ACCC semis at Faulkner State’s Jack Robertson Arena and puts the Lady Lions into Saturday’s title game, where they’ll seek their first conference tournament title since 2011. Since Region 22 has a pair of NJCAA automatic bids this season, the trey also secured Wallace State’s first trip to the NJCAA Division I national tournament in four seasons. The national tournament is in Salina, Kan.
Smith, a Cullman High graduate, attempted the final shot in regulation and during the first overtime Friday. The second overtime heave was the charm.
Wallace State (27-4) had the final possession with 4.1 seconds remaining in the second overtime, trailing 88-86. After a timeout, Smith received the ball at the top of the 3-point line, pump faked a shot and then hurled a one-handed, hook shot with her right hand. The shot banked in off the glass and rolled in for Smith, sealing Wallace State’s first win over Shelton State this season and sparking a wild celebration on the court for the Lady Lions.
“I’ve definitely never hit a high-level shot like that considering the circumstances. It’s such a great feeling to be able to come through. It means a lot that we get to go to Kansas, but it means so much more because it was against Shelton State, who beat us so bad in the regular season,” Smith said. “Shelton State is such a good team, so I’m glad we came out on top. Everything about it is so sweet.”
Smith scored 17 of her 22 points after halftime and BreAnna Thompson poured in 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lady Lions, registering her eighth double-double of the season.
Kaneisha Mixon had 16 points and five assists for Wallace State, Haven Albright finished with 16 points and Morgan Hardy added eight points and 15 rebounds.
After a 78-78 tie at the end of the first overtime, Wallace State never led in the second overtime until Smith’s heroics. The Lady Lions trailed 82-78 with 3:49 remaining after Shelton State’s Gabby Nicholson hit a 3-pointer from the right corner. Wallace State then faced an 86-82 deficit with less than two minutes to go.
Smith made a jumper in the lane to trim it to 86-84 with 1:50 remaining and Hardy tied the game at 86-all with 21.4 seconds left.
Keyuana Thompson decided to score quickly for Shelton State on its next possession. She cut through the lane for an uncontested layup and gave the Lady Bucs an 88-86 edge with 16 seconds remaining.
Wallace State, the North Division’s No. 3 seed, pushed the ball across midcourt and coach Ron Burdette called a timeout with 4.1 seconds left.
Smith delivered with one of the biggest shots in Wallace State women’s recent history, extending the team’s winning streak to seven games.
“Morgan Smith misses a lot of 3’s because she takes so many, but she also makes some big ones. She’s hit a lot of big shots in her career. I’m so proud of her and I couldn’t be more proud of our team. There’s not quit on this roster. It may not have looked good for us at times, but good things happen to good people and this team doesn’t quit,” said Burdette, who has now guided the Lions to the ACCC title game in three of his first four seasons. “We refused to lose and had a will to win. We knew Shelton State was going to make its runs and we handled them. I contribute that to our team maturing and growing up this season.”
Wallace State handed Shelton State (29-3) only its third loss of the season after the Lady Bucs entered the game ranked 14^th nationally.
Wallace State lost a pair of regular-season meetings to Shelton State by an average of 21.5 points.
The Lady Lions made Friday’s result drastically different.
“One of the main differences is we didn’t play scared. We went out there knowing we could beat them. We went out there confident and we played confident. We hustled after loose balls. We just did so much right,” Smith said. “We also kept our composure when Shelton State made runs and didn’t try to play their game. That’s sometimes easier said than done.”
Unlike the previous regular-season tilts between the rivals, Wallace State scooted off to a strong start Friday. The Lady Lions led 14-5 with 13:11 to go in the first half after Thompson put in a layup. A minute later, Thompson hit only her fourth 3-pointer of the season, extending Wallace State’s advantage to 18-9 with 12:11 remaining before intermission.
Wallace State pushed its cushion to 30-18 with 6:52 to go on another bucket by Thompson, who scored 13 points in the first half and finished 8 of 11 from the field.
The Lady Lions seized their biggest lead of the game, at 38-25, after Jada Dale’s 3-pointer with 4:45 remaining.
Wallace State led 41-34 at the half after Shelton State closed the final four minutes on a 9-3 run.
The Lady Lions built as much as a 12-point advantage in the second half, leading 58-46 with 12 minutes to go after an Albright 3-pointer.
Shelton State, which had won seven of the last eight ACCC tournament crowns, answered emphatically. The Lady Bucs used a 13-1 surge to tie the game at 59-59 after a 3-pointer by Nicholson with 7:39 remaining.
There were five ties and lead changes through the remainder of regulation. Smith hit a turnaround jumper in the lane for Wallace State with 11.6 seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 72-all.
Shelton State had a golden opportunity to snatch the lead with 2.2 seconds left, but Coco Knight missed a pair of free throws.
Smith narrowly missed being the hero for Wallace State in regulation after her long toss from just past midcourt hit the front of the rim.
Both teams hit a scoring drought early in the first overtime. A runner on the baseline by Mixon finally broke the tie with 2:44 remaining, giving Wallace State a slim 74-72 advantage.
The teams traded baskets throughout the remainder of the first overtime and were tied at 78-78 heading into the second OT.
Wallace State’s starters scored all but six of the team’s 89 points, and the Lady Lions collected 21 offensive rebounds.
Knight led Shelton State with 24 points and seven rebounds. Thompson pitched in with 15 points and Keyonda Mason had 13.
Wallace State plays fourth-seeded Lawson State at 2 p.m. Saturday for the conference title. The Lady Lions swept the regular-season series, winning by a combined six points. Lawson State upset second-seeded Gadsden State on Friday with a 63-54 victory.
Besides Shelton State, Wallace State is the only ACCC women’s program to win a conference title since 2006.
“We have to take care of business on Saturday. When we lost the coin toss for the second seed, we knew we would have to go through every good team in order to win a title. We have one more step. This team is very similar to the 2003 and 2011 Wallace State teams that won it all. A lot of the stars that aligned those years are similar this season. We’ll see what happens,” said Burdette, who was an assistant on those two championship teams.
Saturday’s championship will  be streamed live at www.ihigh.com.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.