Sterling girls grab gutsy win in OT at Rock Island

ROCK ISLAND — A win like Thursday night’s Western Big 6 Conference overtime thriller at Rock Island is one the Sterling girls basketball team may not have escaped with in recent years.

However, this year’s group of Golden Warriors continued to show they are capable of posting special victories.

Sterling took the scrappy Rocks' best shot, as every play counted in a 60-57 overtime victory. The Warriors – who cracked the Associated Press Class 3A rankings at No. 8 on Wednesday – improved to 16-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big 6.

After letting a 43-33 lead with 6:14 left in the fourth quarter slip away, Sterling was able to lock in with the game tied at 52 after four quarters.

“I just think our kids made plays at the end that maybe the last few years we wouldn’t have been able to make,” Sterling coach Taylor Jackson said. “I think they made defensive stops when we absolutely needed them. I think they finished around the rim and handled the basketball when it counted.”

Overcoming 16 turnovers, missed open shots and multiple players in foul trouble late, Sterling came through late in a game which Rock Island made a fight for 36 minutes. The Rocks had the last shot but Jossy James blocked the 3-point attempt at the buzzer to secure the win.

“For the most part, I’m just happy with how we finished,” Jackson said.

Jae James hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points for Sterling, with Jossy James (13 points) going 4 of 4 at the line with six of Sterling’s eight points in OT. The Rocks (7-11, 2-5 Big 6) did a good job of getting multiple defenders on Madison Austin inside, but she was able to finish with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Jae, a junior, said keeping its composure was key for the team in the win.

“And just working as a group together. I think that we really rely on each other for our energy and just to pick each other up,” she said. “Especially in times of distress and when we’re just fighting.”

In their first overtime game of the season, the Warriors came through.

DaNaijha Bragg (10 points) sent the game to OT with a layup at the buzzer. That came after Delali Amankwa (seven points) gave Sterling a 52-20 lead with five seconds left after a Rocky turnover.

The Rocks were just a couple plays away from a different outcome, as they went 1 of 6 at the line in OT.

“It was definitely a little crazy for us,” Jae said. “We’re not used to having to fight back and forth, back and forth the entire time, but I think that we did pretty well for our first time this season [in OT].”

The first quarter went mostly Sterling’s way as it scored the first seven points and led 17-10 after eight minutes. But coach Henry Hall and the Rocks made points a premium after that.

Amayah Jackson (15 points) had nine points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer that put the Rocks up 48-47 with 2:35 to play. Jordyn Randle added 14 for the Rocks, and Daniella Leahy added nine, with her last bucket giving Rocky a 50-48 lead with under a minute in regulation.

“I thought our game plan was good,” Hall said. “I thought they played hard, we just couldn’t get over the hump in the end.”

The Rocks have battled through close losses and injury but showed they are still far from an easy out in the Big 6.

“I would like to give a lot of credit to Rock Island, because they played as hard as they possibly could for five quarters,” Jackson said. “And that’s a huge credit to Coach Hall and what he does over there. We knew this was going to be a game, and they made us work for everything we got.”

Nia Harris had four points, Alivia Gibson had two, and Taah Liberty had one for Sterling in the win.

Already putting together their best start in a number of years, Sterling is excited about what it can accomplish this season. The Warriors have already surpassed last year’s win total of 14. They went 3-27 the year before.

“We’re putting ourselves to work every single day,” Jae said. “Not a single day off to just sit there and think. We’re just going to keep pushing and take every game as is. No games off, no practices off.”