Sellers knocks down clutch free throws for Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS - Shooting pressure free throws at the end of a game is nothing new for Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Lela Sellers.

Shoot them to beat 42nd Street rival Cedar Rapids Xavier is new.

Sellers made a pair of free throws with 13.6 seconds left in the game to break a 52-all tie and the Class 5A No. 10 Cougars knocked of Class 4A No. 13 Xavier, 55-52, last night in a Mississippi Valley Conference girls basketball game at Xavier.

'I've always had to work on my free throws,” said Sellers, the 16th ranked junior recruit in the college according to ESPN. 'I just focus on the basket, the back of the rim.”

Sellers, who moved into the district from suburban Minneapolis at the start of the school year, connected on 7 of 10 free throws and Kennedy (5-1, 3-1) outscored Xavier 15-4 from the stripe.

'You can't get outscored 15-4 and expect to win,” said Xavier Coach Tom Lilly. The Saints (3-3, 2-2) missed nine charity shots. 'We had our chances.”

Sellers scored 24 points to lead all scorers. She had 17 in the second half.

Ashley Hamilton scored all 10 of her points for Kennedy in the second quarter, when the Cougars built a 32-19 lead.

Lizzie Bailey scored seven of her 19 points in the third quarter and McKenna Andersen notched eight of her 14 in the period as Xavier outscored the Cougars 20-7 to pull even at 39-39 heading into the fourth quarter.

'They came out aggressive and really took it to us,” Kennedy Coach Tony Vis said. 'I may have foreshadowed that in my halftime speech and maybe we played a little passive. But give Xavier credit.”

The lead changed hands three times and there were three ties in the fourth period. Both teams held three-point leads.

A rebound putback off a missed shot by Xavier junior Meghan Joens tied the game at 52-52 with 24 seconds left.

The Cougars put the ball in the hands of Sellers. She was fouled on a drive to the basket and made both of her free throws. Teammate Sydney Hayden made 1 of 2 with 3.7 seconds left.

Morgan Breitbach's 3-pointer to tie banked off the glass and hit the front of the rim at the buzzer.