The Lady Rams Karli Okuley hit 3 of 4 free throws in the closing seconds of overtime to propel Tinora to a thrilling 49-45 overtime win at Montpelier.

The Tinora Lady Rams headed to Montpelier with their 8-7 record, coming off two straight tough losses last week. The Lady Locos entered the non-conference battle with an 11-4 overall record.

The Lady Rams also broke out an alternative uniform for the first time, sporting a slick design of black, green, white, and a splash of old school Tinora yellow.

The Tinora offense and defense dominated the opening eight minutes, outscoring the Lady Locos 14-3 after the first quarter. Eowyn Blanchard with eight first quarter points for Tinora.

The second quarter would see the Lady Rams continue to impress, Tinora would take a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter. The Lady Rams took a 26-14 lead to the half. 
A very balanced opening half for Tinora saw Addison Lee with 8, Blanchard 10, and Nova Okuley with 6 points.

The third quarter was a swing on emotions and momentum. The first few minutes would see the Lady Rams jump out to a 30-14 lead on a Nova Okuley breakaway layup with 5:30 in the quarter.

Mike Bumb and his Lady Locos would start a comeback on a jumper by Kelsey Bumb, her eighth point of the contest. The Bumb bucket cut the Lady Rams lead to 30-16 with just under five minutes remaining in the third.

Over the final half of the third quarter, Tinora’s offense struggled with the ramped up Lady Locos defensive play, forcing numerous Tinora turnovers and pressures. The Lady Locos would chip away at the large Lady Rams lead, cutting it to 34-29 after the third quarter. Kelsie Bumb and Jada Uribes ignited the rally with eight quick combined points down the stretch of the third.

Tinora started the fourth quarter with a five point lead and PG Karli Okuley with three fouls, she sat the final few minutes of the third quarter. 

The Locos Meara McGee started the quarter for the Lady Locos on a drive and score, cutting the once 16 point Tinora lead down to just 34-31.

Zoe Uribes and her Lady Locos cut the Tinora lead to 37-36 with 3:50 on the fourth quarter clock.

Eowyn Blanchard’s three gave Tinora a 40-36 advantage with 2:20 remaining. 

Montpelier would rally in the final 1:30 still trailing by four, Montpelier’s Kelsie Bumb with a steal and score cut the lead to 40-38 with 1:10 on the clock.

The Lady Locos would complete the comeback with another forced turnover as Jada Uribes would throw in a runner in the lane, tying the game at 40-40 with 40 seconds remaining.

Another Tinora turnover would give Montpelier a shot at the win. The Locos killed the final 37 seconds and with three seconds remaining, Aleigha Hillard’s left wing three pointer was halfway down, then shot out of the cylinder at the buzzer, to overtime the teams went tied at 40-40.

The OT period started with Karli Okuley getting a rebound and driving it the other way for a layup, giving the Lady Rams a 42-40 lead.

After Bumb tied the game at 42-42 with three minutes remaining, Julie Durfey’s left baseline runner put Tinora on top 44-42 with just over two minutes remaining.

The Lady Locos floor general, Kelsie Bumb would foul out midway through the OT period, exiting with 17 points. The Bumb foul would send Tinora’s Blanchard to the line, where she would give Tinora a 46-43 lead with 1:05 remaining.

Karli Okuley would head to the free throw line four times in the final 30 seconds, where she would hit three of the four free throws, sending the Lady Rams back home with a gut-wrenching 49-45 victory over Montpelier.

The OT period was dominated by fantastic dribbling skills by Tinora’s Karli Okuley, Okuley continued to dribble out of pressure with continuous double teams and pressure.

Montpelier would grab a 2-0 lead initially, the only lead they would have in the game.

TINORA 14-12-8-6-9=49
MONTPELIER 3-11-15-11-5=45

Tinora scoring: Lee 10, K Oluley 8, Blanchard 17, Durfey 4, N Oluley 10
Montpelier scoring: Bumb 17, Friend 2, Hilliard 3, Z Uribes 5, Mahan 2, McGee 4, Hopper 1, J Uribes 12

JV- Tinora 40-30
Rams – Spangler 12, Locos – Hornung 9

Tinora improves to 9-7 and will travel to Hicksville in a GMC game on Thursday.

Montpelier drops to 11-5 and will head to Pettisville on Thursday for a BBC match.

The Higbea Embroidery P{layer of the Game went to Karli Okuley, congratulations, Karli!

Watch the games back, click below: