In a worst-case scenario, last week’s Liberty versus Northampton girls basketball game would go to overtime, but Hurricane senior guard Ava Kopetskie took matters into her own hands and scored on a buzzer beater to defeat the Konkrete Kids, 52-49, on Jan. 23 at Liberty.

Tied at 49-49 with 19 seconds left in regulation, Northampton secured the rebound on a missed foul shot by Liberty, but Northampton’s attempt to score at the other end resulted in a Kopetskie block and possession.

“After I got the block, I kind of bobbled it, and as I was going up the sideline, I was just making sure I was staying inbounds,” Kopetskie said. “I looked up at the clock, and I was at the 3-point line on the other end, and it said seven seconds, so I was like, all right, I have enough time.

“I dribbled down, but I saw three people in front of me, so I was like, I’m just gonna shoot the 3 because if worse comes to worst, we just go into overtime. I shot the 3, just let it go, and it went in. I felt I was fading to the right a little bit, and I thought the ball might have followed, but when it swished, I was so relieved.”

Liberty’s bench jumped up in celebration while Northampton coach Jeff Jacksits just shook his head.

Northampton held a four-point lead until Kopetskie sank two free throws with 3:09 remaining in the game.

Liberty was forced to foul three straight times for a chance to gain possession, and on the shooting foul, Isabella Pecuch put the Kids ahead, 49-46.

Northampton then secured a defensive rebound, but Kopetskie stole the ball back for the ‘Canes and took it in for the layup.

Kopetskie stole the ball for a third time on Northampton’s inbound pass and was fouled, tying the game on one free throw.

“They were playing a box and 1, so we were a little flustered but sticking together on defense, and making big plays down the stretch helped us get the win,” she said.

Liberty coach Jarrett Carnes said the Konkrete Kids came out on fire in the first quarter.

“We haven’t played lady-to-lady (man-to-man) a lot, but they were slicing up our zone, and they were slicing up the press, so we had to adjust,” Carnes said. “I made some adjustments with matchups, sagged off of their big, let her sit out there on the perimeter, and then just got on the shooters that were killing us, [Laila Reichl and Abbie Lulpersbeck].

“All-around, great team defense and great performance by everybody that I called on, and a great game by Northampton. Coach Jacksits is a great coach and he has some girls over there that are young, and they’re playing really good right now, so something to look forward to into next season.”

Reichl had 20 points for the Kids, Pecuch added 11, and Lulpersbeck tallied 7.

Kopetskie had a game high 29 points, inching her closer to Liberty’s overall all-time scoring record, and Juliet Broskey had 10 points.

“That was our first buzzer beater since I have been here coaching, but no timeouts, and you just have to watch and let them play,” said Carnes. “There’s a reason why Ava Kopetskie’s the all-time leading scorer here. She was confident with that moment, and she took advantage of it.”