O'Neill beats buzzer, Marion clips Raiders

MARION - It was the moment, not a chill, that provided Alli O'Neill a goosebump moment.O'Neill tracked an errant shot, gathered it and scored at the buzzer to lift Class 3A fifth-ranked Marion past Williamsburg, 52-50, in a Wamac Conference West Division girls' basketball game last night at Marion High School."I've got shivers," said O'Neill, who bailed out the Indians (10-1 overall, 7-0 Wamac West) twice in the final moments.O'Neill's three-point play gave Marion a 50-48 lead with 12 seconds left. But Brittany Fish fouled Williamsburg's Hannah Wilson, who swished two free throws to tie the game with 10 ticks left.Sam Rinehart lofted a 3-pointer from the left wing, but it was deflected and fell about 3 feet short of the rim. O'Neill grabbed the ball and scored as the horn sounded."I saw Sam take the shot and I knew it was going to be short," O'Neill said. "I went for it, grabbed it and shot it."It all happened so fast."Williamsburg (9-4, 6-2) rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit and took a 48-44 lead into the final minute. But the Indians wiggled off the hook at the end.Morgan Paige hit a free throw with 52 seconds left, then drove for a basket with 30 seconds left to draw Marion within a point.After the Raiders turned it over in the backcourt, Leah Smith fed O'Neill in the paint, and O'Neill scored while drawing a foul at the 0:12 mark."We didn't lose this game. Marion won it," said Williamsburg Coach Aaron Feddersen. "I'm really proud of our effort. We had a couple of chances to go away, but we didn't."Marion led 25-19 at halftime and took its largest advantage at 33-23 on Brittany Fish's 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the third quarter.The Raiders chipped away, tied it at 42-42 on Kiley Belland's basket, then took the lead on Anne Stecker's hoop with 1:45 to go."(Williamsburg) just totally outplayed us," said Marion Coach Sherryl Gaffney-Paige. "Our energy was down. We were on our heels. We were out of sync."I'm looking forward to practice the next two nights. I think we'll go until midnight."Rinehart and Morgan Paige scored 12 points apiece for the Indians. Fish and O'Neill added 11 each.Samantha Meyer compiled 12 points and 13 rebounds for Williamsburg. Stecker scored 12.Marion will play at Maquoketa in an interdivisional game Friday; Williamsburg is at Anamosa.Contact the writer: (319) 368-8857 or jeff.linder@gazcomm.com

By Jeff LinderThe Gazette jeff.linder@gazettecommunications.com