Three failed attempts by Dieruff's girls basketball team in the final six seconds of its game against Liberty resulted in a 50-49 win for the Hurricanes last Friday night.

Liberty guard, Taysia Snead, said, "I kept thinking to myself, how many seconds are on the clock? I was trying to get the rebound and not let them get the shot up."

If broken down, the first half of the game at Memorial Gymnasium was all Hurricanes, but the second half belonged to the Huskies, final score notwithstanding.

Liberty took an eleven point lead into the locker room at halftime, and Dieruff began to chip away at it upon the start of the third quarter, pulling to within three points.

"Definitely, they were more intense the whole second half, and we were not as intense as we should have been," said Snead.

Dieruff's Lexii Anderson started the fourth quarter with a three pointer, and one foul shot later, the Hurricanes called a timeout, only to return to the court and another three pointer by Anderson.

"I play AAU ball with her, so I knew everything she was going to do," Snead said.

Snead made sure to fill in fellow guard, Reyna DeJesus.

"[Lexi Anderson] gets your blood boiling to want to come back. You have to play on her and not let her get the ball back," said DeJesus.

After Dieruff's Vanessa Slater was fouled and made both shots, Liberty guard, Madison Capuano, hit a three pointer to tie the game. Soon after, DeJesus was fouled but missed both shots.

"I felt so bad, and I was beating myself up about it, but I had to [stop doing that] for the team," DeJesus said.

With 30 seconds left in the game, DeJesus rebounded a missed shot by Slater, passed to teammate, Kaylin West, whose two points put the Hurricanes ahead by one. Soon after, DeJesus had a second chance on foul shots and converted both.

"I just stayed calm, and I breathed and believed," she said.

Dieruff's Katie Alvarez responded with two points, pulling the Huskies to within one. Dieruff regained possession with six seconds left and ample opportunities to win the game, but time ran out on the side of the Hurricanes.

"It's so relieving. My heart is still racing," said DeJesus. "We felt so good about the first half. It takes a lot to get back in the game, but we ended up doing well."

Liberty will have their hands full this week, taking on both city rivals, Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom, with a berth in district playoffs hanging in the balance.