CLASS 2A GIRLS: 58 percent just right for Needles girls

Fifty-eight percent usually isn’t an ideal free-throw percentage.

For Needles’ girls basketball team, it turned out to be perfect.

The Mustangs (25-3) made 7 of 12 free throws in the final 50.8 seconds Saturday to rally for a 46-41 win over Lincoln County for the Class 2A Southern League title at Durango.

“Free throws, man, they’ll make you or break you,” Needles coach Manuel Calderon said. “Free throws will put you right back in the game like they did for them, and I felt they won it for us.”

Lincoln County (16-10) led 41-39 after a free throw by Melanie Florence with 52.8 seconds to play.

But Florence missed her second attempt, and freshman Dechaunee Russell was fouled on the rebound. Russell made 1 of 2 free throws with 50.8 seconds to pull the team within one.

After a turnover, April McGee knocked down both foul shots to give the Mustangs a 41-40 lead with 30.3 seconds to play.

The Lynx turned the ball over again with about 20 seconds left, and were whistled for a foul. Lincoln County’s bench was assessed a technical, and the Mustangs made 4 of 8 free throws in the final 18.1 seconds for the final margin.

Needles led 19-11 at the half, and pushed the lead as large as 11 in the third quarter before Florence and Lincoln County rallied,

Florence, a 5-foot-10-inch senior, scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to key the comeback.

“I think we started playing a little bit too cautious underneath,” Calderon said. “Mel Florence did a good job of getting the ball down low and putting it in the basket.”

The Lynx also blanketed Needles star Gena Chavira at all times, regularly employing a triangle-and-two on Chavira and guard Abby Chandler.

Chavira took just two shot attempts in the third quarter, and had the team’s lone field goal in the fourth quarter.

But the fouls piled up for Lincoln County, and Needles was 15 for 25 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

“We got into the double bonus and knocked down some big free throws,” Calderon said. “Everything just fell into place.”

Chavira finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four assists. Russell had 10 rebounds off the bench for Needles, which outrebounded the Lynx 41-31.

Florence had eight rebounds for Lincoln County.

Both teams advance to the state tournament, which begins on Friday at Durango.

Needles graduated nine seniors after advancing to last year’s league tournament final. But Calderon gave all the credit to senior Chavira and her new supporting cast for leading the Mustangs to the tournament title and back to state.

“Who would have ever thought we would be in this situation again, but here we are,” Calderon said.