By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Berrien Springs' Christine Drach scored with a tenth of a second on the clock Thursday night to hand host Dowagiac a 50-48 non-conference setback.
The loss kept the Chieftains winless on the year (0-5) while Berrien Springs improves to 4-3 with the come-from-behind victory.
In a back and forth fourth quarter, Dowagiac had tied the game at 48 on a basket by Brianne Reist with 19.3 seconds remaining. Reist was fouled on the play, but was unable to complete the three point play.
Berrien Springs grabbed the rebound and headed up court. Point guard Andrea Murdock saw a lane in the Dowagiac defense and threaded a pass to Drach who had positioned herself under the basket for the winning shot.
Drach barely got the ball out of her hands as the buzzer sounded and the ball dropped through the net.
The win marked a triumphant return for former Dowagiac girls' and boys' coach Al Westendorp.
The Lady Shamrocks and Chieftains battled throughout the contest. Neither team was able to open up more than a couple basket lead in any of the four quarters.
The game was tied at 42 with 2:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Berrien grabbed a 44-42 lead on a pair of free throws by Jaime Turner only to have Dowaigac come back and tie the score at 44 with 1:45 remaining on a basket by Reist.
A three-point play by Drach with 1:10 remaining gave the Lady Shamrocks a 47-46 advantage. Davis increased Berrien's lead to 48-46 on a free throw with 33.1 remaining on the clock.
Reist then tied the game and set the stage for the last second dramatics.
Dowagiac led 14-12 after one period of play, but trailed 25-23 at the intermission. Dowagiac outscored Berrien Springs 12-10 in the third quarter to tie the score at 35 heading into the final eight minutes.
Brianne Reist led a trio of Chieftains in double digits as she scored 14 points. Jennifer Pilot added 13 points and Brittney Reist contributed 12 points.
Davis led Berrien Springs with 12 points, while Drach finished with 11.
Dowagiac travels to Marshall on Tuesday and then hosts Niles on Thursday.
BERRIEN SPRINGS 50
Maria Huringa 0 0-0 0; Andrea Murdock 3 2-4 9; Christine Drach 5 1-1 11; Kaitlyn Lemon 1 0-0 3; Lindsey Davis 2 6-8 12; Samantha Cooper 2 0-1 4; Whitney Hewitt 0 0-0 0; Ashley Pagel 1 1-1 3; Jaime Turner 2 4-6 8. Totals: 16 14-21 50
DOWAGIAC 48
Ashley Brewer 0 0-0 0; Amy Wood 0 0-0 0; Brittany Winters 2 0-2 5; Kim Luthringer 0 0-0 0; Brianne Reist 6 2-5 14; Jennifer Pilot 5 3-4 13; Beth Fryman 1 0-0 2; Holly Lowe 0 0-0 0; Valerie Johnson 1 0-0 2; Brittney Reist 6 0-0 12. Totals: 21 5-11 48
Berrien 12 13 10 15 -- 50
Dowagiac 14 9 12 13 -- 48
Three-point baskets: Berrien Springs 4 (Murdock, Lemon, Davis 2), Dowagiac 1 (Winters). Total fouls: Berrien Springs 16, Dowagiac 17. Fouled out: Brewer (D). Technical fouls: Dowagiac coach Joe Spitale, Brewer (D).