Higgins, No. 5 Foothill sink No. 3 Liberty in OT thriller

Foul trouble wasn’t part of the game plan for Foothill High’s Bri Higgins on Thursday.

When the 6-foot senior came off the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter of a key Southeast League game, it appeared her night was just about over.

But Higgins refused to let the predicament stand in her way. She scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and made several big defensive plays to help the fifth-ranked Falcons upset No. 3 Liberty 68-64 in overtime at Foothill.

“I kind of felt like we were the underdogs tonight,” said Higgins, who also had six rebounds. “For the past few seasons, we’ve always been ranked a little lower than Liberty, but we like that.”

The Patriots appeared to have the game in hand when Tae’lor Monroe rebounded her own missed free throw and hit a layup with 10 seconds left in regulation to give her team a 59-57 lead. But after a timeout, Foothill’s Tanji Ajeto took the ball strong to the hoop and made a layup at the buzzer to force overtime.

“That’s exactly what was supposed to happen,” Falcons coach Mike Collins said. “Except the wrong person took the shot. It was supposed to go to Higgins.”

Julie Harless and teammate Ajeto made the first two baskets of overtime, and Foothill (9-3, 6-0 Southeast) led the rest of the way.

Collins said he knew his team was capable of knocking off a higher-ranked team.

“We know what we have,” he said. “We were confident we could do it, and we showed resilience toward the end.”

Foothill built a 42-35 lead by the end of the third period. But the Patriots (16-3, 5-1) stormed back with a 12-0 run and took their biggest lead at 54-48 with 2:38 to play when Sydney Clark hit a layup and a foul shot. But a key steal and resulting layup by Foothill’s Emily Cox tied it at 57, setting up the dramatic finish.

Harless finished with 13 points and six rebounds for Foothill, Cox scored 11, and Christina Nash and Ajeto each had 10 points and six rebounds.

Alena Evans and Alyx Stiff scored 21 points apiece to lead Liberty.