Midway Takes Two from Wartburg in Last-Second Thrillers
By Terry Futrell
Small town and country living is about as exciting as watching grass grow! While that might be the opinion of some folks, no basketball fan who watched two intense battles unfold in the Midway High School gymnasium Tuesday evening could possibly agree. It hasn’t been a stellar year for area basketball teams, and as Wartburg made the trek South of the River to take on Midway, one could only wonder about the level of play that would soon take place. Each of the four teams would take the floor with a losing record.
No one could have accurately predicted what was about to happen. Who could predict that all four teams would play as if this was their last opportunity on earth? Who could predict that fans would be treated not to games but to open warfare with all the strategy and intensity that could be brought to bear? Yes, it was warfare – bodies were strewn here and there, and blood literally flowed. Each game concluded in the same way – Midway hit free throws in the last seconds to earn hard-fought victories by only one-point margins. But fans of both schools were the real winners by being treated to some of the best basketball witnessed in this area in the past several years.
Midway Uses Strong Defense to Defeat Lady Bulldogs 43-42
“Never underestimate a Mike Hayes team.” Even I did not fully understand the implication of these words that I spoke to Wartburg Assistant Girls Coach Michael Poland as I entered the Midway gym. I had a good basis for my comment – both of my daughters played basketball at Oakdale 30+ years ago and Hayes’ Midway teams were always some of their most formidable opponents. Two hours after I spoke with Poland, a dejected Wartburg Lady Bulldog team left the court as Hayes’ Lady Wave celebrated their 43-42 victory.
Midway came into the game with a 2-3 record, averaging less than 39 points per game. Good on defense, the Lady Wave have been challenged when it comes to offensive performance. The Wartburg Lady Bulldogs were 2-4 on the season with a scoring average of 43 points per game, but once scored 60 points in a victory over Loudon. Notably, Wartburg has relied heavily on 3-point shooting for their scoring and can sometimes make it appear as if it is raining threes.
Put all these factors into Hayes’ basketball brain and out comes a strategy that proved to be highly effective for the Lady Wave – use a full-court, pressure defense to force Wartburg turnovers and to take away 3-point shooting opportunities.
Hayes’ strategy worked to near perfection in the first quarter of play as the press forced several Wartburg turnovers and the Lady Bulldogs made only one 2-point basket. The Lady Wave led 10-2 after eight minutes of play with Abbie Parks scoring five points in the quarter.
Midway quickly advanced their lead to 12-2 as the second quarter began. With 6:58 on the clock, Wartburg’s Olivia Davis drove through the Midway defense for a layup that sparked the Wartburg offense. In just over one minute, the Lady Bulldogs put seven more points on the board to trim Midway’s lead to 12-11 at 5:41. Defense continued to dominate play and Midway led 18-16 at the half. Sara Beth Nickell and Stella Tilley each hit 3-point baskets for the Lady Wave. Elizabeth Keathley scored five points for Wartburg, and Olivia Davis added four points.
Midway expanded their lead to 23-16 at 5:19 of the third quarter. With almost four minutes elapsed in the quarter, Wartburg finally got on the board with a free throw with 4:12 on the clock. With another scoring spurt, the Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to 23-22 at 3:33. Midway pulled ahead 29-23 with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Wartburg’s Olivia Davis then electrified the crowd with a 3-point shot from near half court as the buzzer sounded to trim Midway’s lead to 29-26. Davis led Wartburg with seven points in the quarter.
Wartburg’s Davis closed the gap to 29-28 with a 2-point shot near the circle early in the fourth quarter. Wartburg then took the lead 30-29 on a shot under the basket by Selena Byrge at 7:01. The teams swapped the lead twice before Wartburg went ahead 34-31 on a drive to the basket by Cynthia Daugherty. Midway tied the game 36-36 with 2:44 on the clock, and again at 39-39 with 1:36 remaining as the teams battled back and forth. Midway once again took the lead 41-39 with 35 seconds on the clock, but Wartburg regained the lead 42-41 when Elizabeth Keathley sank two free throws with only three seconds left on the clock.
These three seconds turned into minutes as the coaches called multiple time outs to plot strategy. Finally, Midway put the ball into play under Wartburg’s basket with only three seconds in which to move the length of the court and score. It was a play that will long be remembered in Midway basketball lore. Midway threw the ball in half the length of the court to a breaking Stella Tilley who drew a foul with 1.8 seconds to go. Tilley coolly stepped up to the line and buried two free throws to give the Lady Wave a hard-fought 43-42 victory over Wartburg. Tilley led Midway in the quarter with nine points, while Sierra Cowell added four points. Keathley led Wartburg scorers, shooting 5 of 6 at the free throw line.
Tilley led Midway’s balanced scoring for the game with 14 points. Parks and Cowell added nine points each, and Sara Beth Nickell contributed eight points. Marissa Stakely scored two points for the Lady Wave.
Wartburg’s Davis led all scorers with 15 points, Keathley followed with 10 points, Byrge scored seven points, Edye-Ann Williams added four points, and Madison Shadden and Daugherty each scored 3 points.
As for Hayes’ strategy, Wartburg connected on only two 3-point shots the entire game.
Midway Survives Wartburg Comeback for 94-93 Barnburner Victory
In a torrid, hard-fought battle that gave fans hardly any opportunity to breathe along the way, the Midway Greenwave toppled the Wartburg Bulldogs 94-93 when Emmett Hegland sank two free throws with only 3.9 seconds left on the clock. The number of points scored by both teams belies the fact that each applied defensive pressure throughout the game – very few shots were uncontested.
The uniqueness of the game is exemplified by the superlative 38-point performance of Wartburg’s Tanner Johnson being eclipsed by the school record 50-point performance of Midway’s Ethan Parks. The game was not what one would expect from two teams with losing records, but instead was a game that will long be remembered by the fans who witnessed the almost unbelievable performance by both teams.
Wartburg took an early 8-5 lead after three minutes of play. Midway went on a 12-0 scoring run for the next four minutes, taking a 17-8 lead with 1:07 on the clock. Wartburg then outscored the Greenwave 8-2 in the final minute to close out the first quarter with Midway leading 19-16. Ethan Parks scored 10 points for Midway, with Emmett Hegland adding five points in the quarter. Blaine Blalock had the hot hand for Wartburg, sinking two 3-point shots.
Midway went on a scoring rampage in the second quarter, outscoring Wartburg 27-19 and taking a 46-35 halftime lead. Ethan Parks continued his hot hand and added 17 points to his total. Emmett Hegland and Dalton Cowell added four points each. Andrew Goode kept Wartburg in the game with eight points.
Midway began the third quarter with a 7-0 scoring run, extending their lead to 53-35 with 6:36 on the clock. Enter one Tanner Johnson, who had remained largely dormant for the Bulldogs up to this point with only four points. Johnson took leadership of the Bulldog offense and scored 17 points in the remainder of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Parks poured in 15 more points for the Greenwave. The pace of the game accelerated to the point of being breathtaking just to watch as the teams scored a combined 51 points in the quarter and Wartburg trimmed Midway’s lead to 71-61.
Midway extended their lead to 76-63 with 7:11 on the clock in the final quarter. Meticulously, the Bulldogs chipped away at the Greenwave lead, pulling within six points at 5:28. The dizzying pace of the game continued. The Bulldogs pulled within one point, 89-88, with 2:07 on the clock and then took the lead 91-90 at 1:05. Tension mounted within the gymnasium. Brennan Reed scored a layup on a fast break to put the Greenwave ahead 92-91 with 47 seconds remaining.
Not to be outdone, the Bulldogs regained the lead 93-92 at 31.9 on the clock. Midway had an opportunity to go ahead at 4.8 on the clock but missed the front end of a one plus one free throw. Emmett Hegland snagged the rebound and was fouled as he attempted a shot underneath. Hegland stepped to the free throw line and sank both shots to put the Greenwave ahead 94-93 with 3.9 seconds to go. Wartburg was unsuccessful in getting the ball into play and the Greenwave closed out with a 94-93 victory.
Wartburg and Midway combined for a remarkable 55 points in the final quarter. Tanner Johnson Led the way with 17 points. Ethan Parks led Midway with eight points and Brennan Reed added seven points.
For the game, Parks scored an astounding 50 points, which included only one 3-point basket, and which set a new Midway school record for single-game scoring. Hegland added 18 points for the Greenwave and Reed scored 15 points.
Johnson was Wartburg’s high scorer for the game with 38 points. Elijah Heinze added 13 points, followed closely by Goode and Blalock with 11 points each.
