Rangers move closer to postseason and hand Hill a critical loss

Ranger College and Hill College came into Wednesday night's game in a three-way tie for third in the North Conference. The game was as close on the floor as the two teams are in the standings. Trailing by one, 48-47, Ranger inbounded the ball from the far sideline with under 30 seconds to play. Shaylan Coleman made her way into the paint and knocked down a runner with seven seconds to play that gave Ranger a one-point lead, 49-48.

In a back-and-forth affair, Hill had one more chance, but the Rangers defense forced Chelsea Adams into a contested three-point shot that was off the mark and Ranger took another step toward the regional tournament beating Hill 49-48.

"We just ran our zone offense, it wasn't a set play or anything," said Ranger head coach Bill Foy. "Shaylan got the ball, she got deep inside the paint and she made a play."Taylor Hooks led Ranger with 12 points.

Now at 7-5 in conference play, Ranger will travel to Cisco on Saturday. The Lady Wranglers entered Wednesday night as the third team in the three-way tie for third.

DECIDING MOMENT

The fourth quarter craziness began when Lena Maledon sank a three that broke a 39-39 tie with just over two minutes to play. Coleman followed quickly with a fastbreak layup that put the home team up five.

Hill answered right back and took the lead on an Adams three ball 46-44 with 1:00 left.Less than 30 seconds later, Maledon answered back with another shot from behind the arc, which put the Rangers back on top. With bodies flying to the floor, Kynese Davis drew a foul and sank both free throws that gave the Rebels a one-point lead prior to Coleman's heroics.

"I am just so proud of how the girls competed in such a high-intensity game. We didn't lose our composure when Hill took the lead late. Lena made a big three for us and with seven seconds left we came up with a big stop. They got a look, but it wasn't a great look. I was really proud of them tonight," Foy said.