Berkley Girls Basketball Wins Overtime Thriller Over Ferndale

It was a wild start to 2012 on Tuesday night at , where the Bears and Ferndale girls varsity basketball teams kept fans on the edge of their seats in a key Oakland Activities Association Blue division game.

Eagles point guard Micaela Ellis forced overtime, hitting a 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds to go in regulation. Her shot completed a 13-point fourth quarter comeback for Ferndale.

But it was the Bears (2-4; 2-3 OAA Blue) that would have the last laugh. Berkley scored 10-straight points in the final minute of overtime to win 51-48.

“That minute wind we had, my mind is blown,” Berkley forward Aarica McCray said, smiling. “It was shocking.”

It was McCray who scored the key basket down the stretch. The senior burst up the floor after the Eagles missed a free throw and hit a layup to complete the fast break. Despite being fouled on the play, McCray muscled the shot over the defender’s outstretched hands.

She missed the free throw, but her layup gave Berkley its first lead of overtime 49-48. McCray finished the game with a team-high 16 points and six steals.

“I’m just really happy I could come out and deliver for my team,” McCray said. “I wish I would of made the free throw, but I was glad I could contribute.”

On the ensuing play, Ellis tried to tie the game for a second time with another long three. The shot missed and Ferndale (2-5; 1-4 OAA Blue) had to foul. Diamond Wilford hit two free throws to close out the win.

“We’ve talked a lot about keeping our composure in games,” said. “We lost it there for a little bit, but we were able to get it back and that’s going to be a key thing going forward.”

The Bears lost that composure in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter when the Eagles tightened up their defense and started applying more pressure on the ball.

Halfway through the quarter, Janecia Jenkins helped start a run with back-to-back steals her team turned into points. Berkley saw its 39-28 lead cut to five in less than a minute.

Ferndale kept that momentum for most of overtime until Jenkins, the game's leading scorer with 17 points, fouled out with 1:06 to go in extra time. She was soon joined by teammate Amber Williams.

“We had Amber and Janecia foul out, that’s a big part of the offense,” Eagles coach Berwyn Ellis said. “I thought in the last couple minutes, with an eight point lead, we could kind of hold the ball and take our time. Some substitutions and not being able to hold onto the ball really cost us.”

Ferndale turned the ball over three times in the final minute and saw its big lead slip away. Berkley forward Lucy McNally had six of her 15 points in the final 90 seconds and also finished the game with a double-double, grabbing 13 rebounds.

Both teams’ next game is Thursday. Berkley will host Hazel Park at 7 p.m. while Ferndale welcomes Oak Park at 4 p.m.

“It was a game for us to hopefully get into a little rhythm and make a run,” Gruppen said. “That’s what we needed coming out of the break, we had a rough time before the break and that’s all behind us now. We can focus on this and go forward."

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