In the End, Thames Delivers for Tartans

If Natasha Thames thought she was nervous stepping to the free throw line with 10 seconds left in a tie game, imagine how the Holy Cross senior felt after she missed both shots, and gave Elizabeth Seton a chance to win yesterday's Washington Catholic Athletic Conference semifinal.

"I had to make up for my free throws," she said.

And with that, Thames got back on defense, intercepted the Roadrunners' outlet pass, and fed freshman teammate Dominique Johnson, who hoisted a 28-footer from the left of the arc.

While Johnson's shot was in midair, Thames raced under the basket. The shot missed everything, but landed in Thames's hands. Standing just to the right of the basket, Thames laid it in as time expired to give the 16th-ranked Tartans a 46-44 victory at American University's Bender Arena.

Although game officials wasted no time emphatically signaling the shot came before the buzzer, fans reacted initially as if it might have come too late. Video replay showed it was a correct call.

Holy Cross (22-7), which won its first league championship in 2007, en route to a City Title victory, will play again for the WCAC crown today at 6 p.m. against No. 5 Good Counsel. The Falcons broke out to a 16-point first-quarter lead against Bishop McNamara and rolled to a 66-49 victory in the day's first semifinal.

The second game, though, never had such a margin. With the score tied at halftime, No. 18 Seton (22-6) scored on its first six possessions to take its largest lead, 31-25, midway through the third quarter, following a three-point play by senior Alex Stelfox (game-high 16 points).

As they did, though, in two regular season victories over Seton, the Tartans turned up their full-court pressure, which sent the Roadrunners on an eight-minute spell without a field goal. Toward the end of that stretch, Holy Cross's Lia Henry hit two three-pointers on consecutive possessions to put the Tartans ahead 41-35.

Trailing 44-39 with 2½ minutes left, Seton broke the press and Tyaunna Marshall hit a layup. Holy Cross then turned it over, and Stelfox made a layup off a nice feed from Julia Weatherly. A free throw from Weatherly tied it at 44 with 1 minute 21 seconds left.

Holy Cross called a timeout and set up a play where it would hold the ball until the final seconds. Then, the Tartans found Thames down low, and she drew a foul with 10.5 seconds left.

"We wanted to leave a little bit of time, in case we missed it," Tartans Coach Russell Davis said. "It worked out that way."

After Thames missed the second shot, Seton tried to push the ball up the middle. Thames, though, stepped in front and intercepted the outlet pass. She fed Johnson on the left wing.

"I had to get the ball," Thames said. "I just took [the shot] as a lob" pass.

Good Counsel, meantime, allowed no such drama. The Falcons (27-3) won their 18th straight by getting out to a 19-3 lead. Good Counsel masterfully evaded McNamara's pressure, and committed just one first-half turnover.

"We knew we had to handle their pressure," Falcons Coach Tom Splaine said. "We really prepared well."

Good Counsel, which won the City Title in both 2005 and '06, was the last team to beat Holy Cross, 48-41, on Jan. 23. The Tartans have won 12 straight since.