Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer Columbiana’s Evalyn Rapp dribbles during the Clippers’ win vs. Mineral Ridge on Monday.

COLUMBIANA – Nothing is more thrilling than a last-second basket in overtime to win a game. Columbiana’s sophomore forward Annah Clemmer got behind the Mineral Ridge defense to score the winning layup basket with 1.8 seconds remaining to propel the Clippers to a hard-fought 46-44 victory over the Rams.

With the win, the Clippers remain unbeaten on the season, improving to 9-0 while the Rams dropped to 6-3 overall. The win also served as a little bit of a payback for the Clippers after the Rams delivered one of just four losses that the Clippers suffered last year.

“Winning close games like this is a huge character builder. This was a measuring stick for our team,” Clippers head coach Dave Crismon remarked. “I’m super proud of our effort and what we were able to do tonight.”

“We approached it like a tournament game. It was a big game for us,” an exhausted Rams head coach Amy Harrison said. “The girls played a great game; it just came down to the last second.”

With only 14.1 seconds remaining in the overtime, and the game tied at 44-44, the Clippers inbounded the ball under the Rams’ basket and raced up the court. Following a pass to forward Ellie Venezia at the top of the key, she found a wide-open Clemmer in the paint. Clemmer’s layup kissed off the backboard and into the bucket with roughly 1.8 seconds remaining. Time ran out before coach Harrison could get a timeout, and the officials ruled the game over.

“Praying I don’t miss,” Clemmer remarked on what ran through her mind on the shot. “Ellie made a good pass. My girl was overplaying so I back cut, and Ellie made a good pass over top, and we managed to get it in.”

“I was counting in my mind how fast we could get up court if they were guarding us,” Crismon said. “I wanted to get my two bigs (Clemmer and Venezia) with one catching the ball and the other running to the block. I was hoping to get it to a guard and the guard would attack and we could get a two-on-one.”

“We were supposed to foul,” admitted Harrison. “But it happens. When you have seconds like that, it goes so fast.”

There were six lead changes in the game and the Clippers enjoyed a game-high 9-point lead late in the third quarter, but otherwise, the contest was a back-and-forth battle all night. Every time it looked like one team was taking control of the game, the other one roared back to keep it a tight battle all night.

Clemmer led the Clippers with 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Megan Moser scored 12, including three treys. Ellie Venezia added 10 points for the Clippers.

Following a basket by Gianna Gilbert at the 1:32 mark of the first quarter, the Rams grabbed their first lead on the night at 14-13. They would enjoy a 16-13 advantage at the close of the frame.

“They are such a quality program. They have so many weapons when you try to defend,” Crismon said. “So, you sit in a zone and number 2 (Gianna Gilbert) is banging threes on you. And if you go man, then you have to deal with Ava Hulett down underneath. So, we had to discipline ourselves.”

The second quarter settled into a defensive battle as the two teams combined to force 11 turnovers and only shot 7-of-20 from the field. When Clemmer scored in the paint with 26 seconds left in the period, the Clippers carried a 20-19 lead into the intermission.

It looked like the Clippers were going to take control of the game in the second half as they went on a 13-5 run to open the third quarter with Venezia, and Evalyn Rapp scoring to provide the Clippers with a game-high 9-point advantage at 33-24. But the Rams closed the period with a 5-0 run to close the quarter and cut the deficit down to 33-29 in favor of the Clippers.

“Each possession was so big because you know the other team is going to be right there,” Crismon stated. “We would answer, they would answer. So, it came down to who had the ball last, and we were fortunate to get a bucket.”

When junior guard Gianna Gilbert hit a bucket with just over a minute remaining in regulation, the Rams held a 39-37 lead. But that is when Clemmer her first of two big baskets on the night, hitting an inside shot with 18 seconds left to tie the contest at 39 and send it into the extra session.

“I’m so proud of them,” Harrison said. “This was a non-conference game, and we came out and battled. If we take this into our league play, it will help us tremendously.”

Gilbert led the Rams with a game-high 22 points in the game. She connected on 6 threes to lead all players. Ava Hulett added 13 and 6 rebounds.

“It was very pressure-filled,” Clemmer said of the game. “We strive to always be our best and I think that is what kind of got us through tonight.”

The Rams will return to the court Saturday afternoon when they play at Springfield in an important MVAC tilt. The Clippers will play again Thursday when they host the Valley Christian Eagles in EOAC action.