Buzzer-beating putback ends West Branch's 44-year state tournament drought

TIPTON — Haley Poula wasn't expecting the ball, but she saw that Tatum Koenig's desperation 3 wasn't going to make it. Poula snatched it out of the air and tossed it up. The shot rolled in, the final horn sounded and West Branch made history.

'I wasn't really looking at the basket; I just kind of turned and chucked it up there,' the senior post said.

Poula's shot gave the Bears a 44-42 victory over Durant in a Class 2A regional final at Tipton middle school and sends the Bears to the girls state basketball tournament for the first time since 1972.

'I didn't really realize what happened,' Poula said. 'I saw it was blocked and I just went to get to where it was. But when it went in I didn't really realize what happened. It's just a shock. I turned around and everyone just ran at me.'

February 23, 2016

@jtylee12 @WBHSBears @haley_poula @bradkoenig37 think I got it this time! pic.twitter.com/WDVfKps3Ek

— ][v][att Taylor (@mlbmmamatt)

The Bears took timeout with the game tied and 22 seconds left and wanted to get something off a high-post screen, either a drive to the basket or pick-and-roll. But those 22 seconds ticked off in hurry.

'We lost track of time and I just had to throw up a shot,' Koenig said. 'It was (blocked). Haley Poula got the rebound and scored it so it worked out. I was so happy.'

'I saw Haley throw the ball up and I was like, 'That better go in,'' Bear senior Allyson Simpson said. 'And it went in. We were like 'Oh my god, she made it.''

Koenig kept the Bears afloat in the first half with four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points. But the offense was a struggle in the second half, and Durant built a 39-34 lead with just 3:33 left and the Wildcat fans were raising the roof.

'No it didn't (look good),' Simpson said. 'Our shots didn't fall in the second half,' Simpson said. 'We had to pick our defense up and we knew if we were going to make any baskets we had to go to the hole.'

The Bears (21-3) rallied behind Haley Mullinnix and Koenig. Mullinnix's driving shot gave West Branch a 42-40 lead with a minute left, but Durant's Miranda Cox tied it with two free throws to set up the final possession.

The game had its share of oddities. A lane violation on a 1-and-1 gave Koenig the chance to make two foul shots to tie the game at 40. Each team's top guard had a turnover when she dribbled the ball off her own foot. But Durant's miscue came at a critical time, and the Bears turned it into a basket and a 42-40 lead with a minute left.

'I couldn't be more proud of our kids They fought for four quarters and we knew it was going to be a tough match-up,' Bears Coach Jarrod Tylee said. 'It means a lot to this program. It means a lot to the people who made this program. But ultimately it's those kids over there and they deserve it.'

'This was the year. I knew we had all the players that we needed,' Simpson said. 'We had to go for it.'