It has been a long, long time since the Lee-Davis girls basketball team finished a season with much to celebrate. But by beating Hanover 48-40 on Friday night, the Confederates completed a remarkable turnaround to finish the season 11-11 without a losing record. Just as importantly, the team that regularly finished in the bottom two of the Capital District claimed fourth place with a 5-7 league record.

  “Real long time,” said Lee-Davis head coach Alvin Puller. “We just wanted to finish in the top four, that was our goal at the beginning of the season. Double-figure wins, we did that, our next goal is try to make it to regionals.”

  And making the regionals is also a realistic goal for the Confederates. After suffering a narrow overtime loss at Hanover earlier in the season and taking the win over the Hawks on Friday night, the two teams will play in the Capital District opener with a regional berth on the line.

  Lee-Davis assistant coach Jessica Hott has been at Puller’s side throughout the growth process. “We’ve come a long way since about five-ten years ago and it starts at Stonewall,” she said. “Coach Puller and I have coached these girls, a lot of them since they’ve been in sixth grade and to see them progress from sixth grade to their senior years it’s the best feeling in the world.”

  In the season of unexpected turnaround, Lee-Davis got a huge boost from the smallest source. As part of the final game ceremonies, Puller decided to start his seniors, regardless of how little time they had seen on the court all season. Chandler Thomas was out with injury and Meredith Holmes has been a solid contributor all season. The only other senior was the smallest player on the team. Brittany Savage has been a vocal contributor from the bench but little opportunity to prove herself in a game.

  “We wanted to surprise Brittany, she never knew she was going to start,” Puller said. “We waited until introductions to let her know she was starting. We just wanted to see the look on her face when she was introduced as one of the starters.”

  “I didn’t even know I was in the starting line-up,” Savage said. “It was a surprise to me.”

  But the biggest surprise was yet to come. As the game got under way, Savage found herself guarding Hanover’s Brooke Throckmorton, one of the Hawks most prolific scorers. Throckmorton did not score with Savage in the game.

  The intense defense kept both teams scoreless over the first minute and a half, when suddenly the ball was passed out to Savage who was open on the baseline. The little used senior did not hesitate, lofting up a perfect 10-foot jumper that drew nothing but net.

  “Big, big bucket,” Puller said. “We were all surprised… The shot presented itself and she took it.”

  More than the two points, it was a morale lift for the Confederates.

  “She really was just that beginning that we needed,” said freshman forward Caroline Naumann. “She fired us all up and made us all want to go that much harder for her.”

  And Naumann fed off that enthusiasm more than anyone else with a dominating performance in the paint, finishing the game with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

  “Unreal,” Puller said of Naumann’s performance. “She is what she is. She’s a freshman that plays above that already. So we expect big things from her in the future.”

  With 3:37 to play in the first half, Naumann had 13 points and Lee-Davis had pulled out to a 19-10 lead.

  The harassing Lee-Davis defense kept the Hawks off balance and limited them to two made field goals in the second period.

  Hanover appeared to gain momentum when Throckmorton drilled a three from the right wing with 45 seconds to play. But C-fed sophomore Kori Hughes answered, getting the ball inside to score with two seconds remaining for a 22-13 lead.

  The Hawks, who had looked flat, came out on fire in the second, scoring the first eight points of the half to pull within one, 22-21. A score inside from Mariah Douglas (13 points), two baskets from Rachel Fehl (11 points) and one from Taylor Woolard quickly got Hanover back in the game.

  Facing late game charges has often been the undoing for Lee-Davis but not on this night. Naumann lobbed in a shot and Hughes scored on a putback.

  Thockmorton nailed another three, but C-fed Trina Gardner (12 points, 7 assists) answered with one of her own. Hughes scored again off an assist from Naumann and Case Price capped a 11-3 Lee-Davis run with a drive inside.

  “I guess, this game we were just happy we were on our home court and we just had the fire to like win that game so bad,” Naumann said. “We thought, ‘All right, they’re just getting a couple of points let’s just keep going and get them back’.”

  The lead blossomed to 43-31 with three minutes to play before Hanover started chipping back, but Lee-Davis answered from the foul line down the stretch.

  For Naumann, getting the win against Hanover was special. “That is huge,” she said. “That’s just fantastic. It’s the best feeling in the world. To take the team that has just brought us down the past couple years, to take them out at our home court just feels amazing.”

  In the closing minutes of the game, Savage reentered for the C-feds and was fouled by Hanover to stop the clock at :17.5 seconds to play. Savage cheerfully stepped to the line and sank her first free throw, giving her the memorable distinction of having scored the first and last baskets in the biggest game of her career.

  After being carried from the court by her teammates, Savage could not vocalize how she felt. “I have no words,” she said. “I’m speechless.”

  So are the fans of Lee-Davis girls basketball.

HANOVER (7-13, 4-8)— Woolard 5, Norris 0, Throckmorton 11, Fehl 11, Douglas 13, Omohundro 0, Lankford 0, Hess 0. Totals 16 5-8 40.
LEE-DAVIS (11-11, 5-7) — Winston 0, Holmes 4, Bryan 0, Savage 3, Price 6, Boothe 0, Gardner 12, Naumann 16, Culver 0, Hughes 7, Hensley 0. Totals 17 9-17 48.
Hanover…............. 4   6 13 17 — 40
Lee-Davis…........... 8 14 11 15 — 48
3-point goals — H: Throckmorton 3; L-D: Gardner 2, Naumann.
Highlights — L: Caroline Naumann 13 rebounds; Katrina Gardner 7 assists; Meredith Holmes 6 rebounds.