TOWN AND COUNTRY – Daijah Jones knew the third quarter was nearing its expiration when she received a pass along the sideline. She cradled the ball under her right arm, took a breath and glanced up at the scoreboard.
“I saw four seconds on the clock,” Jones said. “I knew I had to take it in and just hoped I’d make it.”
Jones’ buzzer-beating drive provided the exclamation mark to a decisive third quarter and helped Cardinal Ritter earn a 56-46 victory over Hickman in the second round of the 50th Visitation Christmas Basketball Tournament Thursday at Visitation Academy.
Cardinal Ritter (6-1) advanced to play six-time defending Viz Tourney champion Incarnate Word (5-0) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in one semifinal.
Lift for Life (6-2) will face Troy (7-0) in the other semifinal at 8:00 p.m. Friday.
The Viz Tourney championship game will be played at 8:00 p.m. Saturday.
Jones was the catalyst in a 25-12 run for Cardinal Ritter that erased a three-point deficit in the second quarter and built a double-digit lead heading into the fourth. Normally a point guard stationed above the three-point line, Jones instead positioned herself near the foul line and became a mid-range menace in the center of the Kewpies’ zone defense.
“I’m the quarterback of the team,” Jones said. “I was in the middle trying to get myself open. When they collapsed on me, I’d kick it out, and when they didn’t (collapse), I’d drive and look for my shot.”
Those shots became a creative array of floaters and one-dribble pull-ups, but it was her decision to take the ball all the way to the rim in the final seconds of the third quarter that provided the signature moment of the game.
After glancing at the clock, Jones drove to her left, avoided two defenders and kissed the ball high off the glass. As she fell to the floor, she watched the ball drop through the net as the buzzer sounded.
The Cardinal Ritter bench leapt in unison and rushed to the baseline to celebrate her buzzer-beater of beauty.
“Family. Family. I loved it,” Jones said.
The Lions surged out of the gate and into a 14-5 lead due to excellent spacing, ball movement and shooting precision. Baseline drives by Jones set up corner threes by Brooke Boyce and Trinity Jackson as Cardinal Ritter quickly forced Hickman to alter its defensive game plan.
Hickman (4-3) switched from man-to-man to a matchup zone and effectively closed out on Cardinal Ritter three-point shooters. That maneuver and 6-foot-5 junior Addison Carr helped the Kewpies close the deficit.
Carr reversed the momentum by coming off the bench to score eight first-half points. Her nifty post move in traffic steered Hickman to a 24-21 lead with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter.
But a mid-range floater by Jones and four points by Boyce, including a breakaway layup in the closing seconds, allowed Cardinal Ritter to regain the lead at halftime, 27-24.
In the third quarter, Cardinal Ritter employed its own zone defense that forced Hickman into taking difficult shots. On the offensive end, Jones found space in the mid-post and located open shooters, including Jackson who drained her third 3-pointer of the game.
“We were able to get stops on defense and then the offense started flowing,” said Jackson, who led the Lions with 16 points.
Baskets by Madyson Ford, Nylah Scales and McKenzie McCann helped Cardinal Ritter build a 12-point lead in the third quarter. They were part of a Lions’ offensive attack that had eight different players ink the scoresheet.
“We take pride in being a really deep team. When one of us comes out, the person coming in is just as good,” said Boyce, a senior captain.
Hickman opened the fourth quarter with a strong drive by senior Sy’Rae Stemmons and a 3-pointer from freshman Bayleigh Blueitt that quickly sliced the deficit to 46-39, but Jones continued to carve out space in the high post.
“We tried to move her around because she’s a phenomenal passer and playmaker,” Cardinal Ritter coach Don Boyce said of Jones. “She has such a high IQ, and we trust her to drive and kick.”
When Jones drove and kicked to Jackson for her fourth 3-pointer of the game, it pushed the margin back to double digits, and ultimately out of reach.
Hickman was led in scoring by senior Jayla Griffith with 13 points. Stemmons and Carr added 12.
The Visitation Christmas Tournament is featuring a 35-second shot clock. There were no shot clock violations during the Cardinal Ritter-Hickman game and only once did the timer drop below five seconds before a shot was attempted.
“I’m surprised we got under 10 (seconds) a few times,” Don Boyce said. “I love the shot clock. It prevents teams from milking the clock. If we’re helping prepare some of these kids to go and play college ball, I think the shot clock is the next move.”
