Thompson comes up clutch for Merced

Lexi Thompson knew her opportunities to score would be limited with Buhach Colony’s defensive stopper Brandy Coward hounding her all night.

However, the Merced star stepped up when she was needed.

Thompson scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including the winning shot in the paint with three seconds left to lift the Bears to a 50-48 win to open Central California Conference basketball play Thursday night at the Thunder Dome.

“I knew it had to go in. There was no way I thought we could survive another overtime,” Thompson said. “I had to put it down.”

Thompson’s heroics came seconds after Buhach Colony senior Elicia Solis tied the score with a three-pointer. Solis’ shot from the wing bounced on the rim four times before finally falling through the cylinder to tie things with 18 seconds left.

With Coward having fouled out, the Bears (7-6 overall) went right to Thompson on the other end. Thompson circled around the baseline and cut to the free-throw line, where she received a pass from Alexis Pierce. Thompson took one dribble before softly tossing up a shot with her right hand from about 12 feet away.

“That’s a shot I practice,” Thompson said. “I drive around and shoot a floater. I was a little farther out from the basket than I’m used to.”

Thompson’s basket set off a wild celebration near the Merced bench while the Buhach Colony players stared in disbelief.

“It’s a hard loss to take,” said Thunder guard Kaylee Lynch, who led the Thunder with 16 points. “I think a lot of us can think if I could have done this or that we would have won the game. Maybe that will light a fire for us next time.”

Buhach Colony only had to look at its poor free-throw shooting (10 of 22) and turnovers (25) to see how the game was lost.

Still, the Thunder battled as Barbara Coward finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Brandy Coward had eight points and 13 boards.

Merced received big contributions from Sami Dinkins (12 points) and Pierce (10).

Dinkins scored to give the Bears a 48-45 lead with 39 seconds left in overtime. That set the stage for Solis’ three-pointer and Thompson’s game-winner.

“Lexi is our clutch,” Merced coach Rob Pierce said. “Lexi won’t back down from a challenge. She knew we needed her to score and she took it upon herself.”

Atwater 48, Turlock 41 in Turlock – Heaven Mazon scored 11 points and Jasmine Xiong and Chynna Peterson both added eight points as the Falcons opened CCC play with a win.

Golden Valley 55, Pitman 31 in Turlock – Modesto Christian transfer Stephanie Moore scored 20 points in her season debut as the Cougars (10-3, 1-0 CCC) rolled. Camille Flores and Delia Moore each added nine points.

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Thompson comes up clutch for Merced."