ROUNDUP: Flyers top Panthers at overtime buzzer

NORWALK — With 12.5 seconds left in overtime, St. Paul senior Chloe Smith found herself with the ball and the clock ticking down to zero. "I was so nervous I was going to have to do the final shot," Smith said. Freshman Ella Kalizeski threw a pass toward the left baseline from the top of the key, and it was a little long and high for Smith. But she was able to corral the briefly loose ball between two St. Mary Central Catholic defenders, then turned to her left and tossed a fallaway shot over Liz Walton and banked it in with 1.1 seconds left. The Panthers didn't have time for a heave, and Smith was mobbed by her teammates immediately following the 47-46 win. "I was so happy," said Smith, who also led her team in scoring with 14 points. "Ella made a great pass and I got a good look. I was just happy it went in, honestly. It was absolutely amazing." Trailing 36-30 with just over five minutes to play, St. Paul got four straight free throws from Megan Lesch, the last with 4:30 left to pull within two points. But the Panthers' Anna Smith made a pair of baskets around a Chloe Smith score, giving her team a 40-36 lead with 1:04 left in the fourth. St. Paul's Smith scored just nine seconds later to pull within two, then things got hectic for both teams. The Panthers were unable to convert at the free throw line, while the Flyers came up empty on two shot attempts. However, they got one last chance to extend the game, and Morgan Endsley was fouled and sent to the line with three seconds left. The sophomore calmly sank both free throws, and SMCC's last-ditch shot was off the mark to send the game to overtime. Annie Friend and Kalizewski scored around a Anna Smith basket for a 44-42 lead — then Alli Lill made her third 3-pointer off a St. Paul turnover for a 45-44 lead with exactly one minute left in the overtime. Chloe Smith split two foul shots to pull within one, but the Panthers were able to grab a loose ball and call timeout with 18.1 seconds left when the Flyers also had a chance to take the lead. But again SMCC missed at the foul line, and on defense, the Panthers deflected the ball out of bounds near mid-court to set up the final 12.5 seconds. "Not really the way the play was drawn up, but it was close," St. Paul head coach Vicky Mahl said. "But she's a four-year senior, and if she wants to take that shot, more power to her. I'm proud of Chloe for wanting that pressure there and being able to handle it." SMCC outscored the Flyers by a 22-8 score over a 7:51 span in the second half to take the 36-30 lead. A three-point play by Anna Smith at the 3:52 mark of the third quarter gave the Panthers the lead (23-22) for the first time in the game. The Panthers led 29-27 entering the fourth quarter, and a 3 by Lill put them up 32-28 with 6:47 left. Bogard scored 13 points for the Flyers. Anna Smith and Lill each had 14 points for SMCC. SMCC (0-1) Sophia Swain 3-1—8; Nicolette Hile 1-0—2; Natalie Peugeot 2-0—4; Anna Smith 5-4—14; Alli Lill 5-1—14; Liz Walton 2-0—4. TOTALS 18-6—46. ST PAUL (1-1) Morgan Endsley 0-2—2; Chloe Smith 5-2—14; Annie Friend 3-0—6; Megan Lesch 1-5—7; Ella Kalizewski 1-1—3; Aubrie Bogard 6-1—13; Addy Rospert 1-0—2. TOTALS 17-11—47. SMCC 7 5 17 11 6 — 46St. Paul 11 9 7 13 7 — 47 3-point FGs: (STM) Smith 3, Swain Margaretta 64, Firelands 35 CASTALIA — Kenadie Saylor scored 19 points to lead Margaretta to a 64-35 nonconference win over Firelands. Raegan Heck added 10 points for the Polar Bears (2-1). FIRELANDS Jordyn Copley 1 0-4 2, Emma Krebs 0 0-2 0, Hailey Urban 3 0-2 6, Kendra Hardwick 5 2-2 16, Sarah Blankenship 1 0-0 2, Lexi Schrader 3 0-1 6, Izzy Bermudez 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 14 2-11 35 MARGARETTA Lilly Edwards 0 0-0 0, Julia Berg 3 1-3 7, Grace Paseka 1 1-2 3, Eden Palomo 1 0-0 3, Cassidy Lane 3 3-5 9, Ellyse Schaefer 2 2-2 7, Dani Grunden 3 0-0 6, Kenadie Saylor 6 6-8 19, Raegan Heck 3 3-7 10. TOTALS 22 16-27 64 Firelands 18 6 7 4 —35Margaretta 20 18 8 18 — 64 Three-point goals: Firelands 5 (Hardwick 4, Bermudez 1); Margaretta 4 (Palomo, Schaefer, Saylor, Heck) Clyde 64, SJCC 59 CLYDE — The Fliers improved to 2-0 by holding off a strong fourth quarter from visiting Fremont St. Joseph. Clyde jumped out to a 19-12 lead after one to set the tone. Katie Shiets led the Fliers with 20 points. Aubrey Sengstock added 10, and a total of 10 Clyde players scored points. Emma Kelbley led SJCC with 20 points, including three makes from beyond the arc. Maddie Militello added 13. SJCC (1-1) Maddie Militello 3 5 13, Gaby Santiago 1 0 2, Kayla Hessick 4 4 10, Savannah Foos 1 0 2, Lauen Ritzman 1 0 3, Ava Stallard 2 1 6, Emma Kelbley 8 1 20. TOTALS 20 11 59 CLYDE (2-0) Addison Townsley 1 2 4, Taitum Jeffrey 2 2 7, Reese Daniel 1 1 3, Katie Shiets 6 6 20, Cora Liskai 4 0 8, Kennedi Long 1 0 2, Elexis Moore 2 3 7, Emma Castle 1 0 2, Aubrey Sengstock 4 2 10, Madison Dukeshire 0 1 1. TOTALS 22 17 64 SJCC 12 15 15 18 — 59Clyde 19 13 14 18 — 64 3-point goals — SJCC 8 (Kelbley 3, Militello 2, Hessick 1, Ritzman 1, Stallard 1); Clyde 3 (Shiets 2, Jeffrey 1) SWIMMINGPeriat opens season with two pool records PORT CLINTON — Minnesota-bound senior Kami Periat set two pool records to open her final season with PC. Periat swam the 100-yard freestyle in 53.33 seconds and the 200 free in 1:56.77. PC's girls won their quad meet over Ottawa Hills, St. Mary Central Catholic and St. Paul. Alexa Taylor also won two individual events for the Port Clinton girls, taking the 100 fly and 100 back. SMCC had two girls event winners: Emery Blank in the 50 free and Sophie Dinsmore in the 100 breastroke. Derek Barnhill won both the 50 free and 100 free for Port Clinton's boys. Ottawa Hills won the boys team scoring. ----- Boys basketball podcast The Register sports guys break down the 2023-24 boys basketball season, which tips off Friday night. Our experts also hold a draft and pick teams that feature some of the area's best. To listen, go to: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sandusky-register63