Down-To-The-Wire Game

    On Tuesday, January 28, the Palisade Bulldogs had a down-to-the-wire game as they fought vigorously against the Glenwood Demons, merely winning the game 45-44.  The game was destined to be a nail-biting matchup as the two teams share the same season record of 9-7. Sadie Bunker, a Junior at Palisade High School plays for the girl’s basketball team and holds a great passion for the game. Unfortunately, Bunker was restricted from play due to an ankle injury causing her to miss the last few games. However, for this game against the Demons, she had the opportunity to redeem and showcase her talent with her tactical decisions, hustle plays, and the most electrifying being her game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. Bunker states “At the beginning of the game we were struggling to find our groove and that’s when Glenwood took advantage of what was going on. The second quarter, into the second half, is when we started to push back and we evened out the score.”  On the Bulldog’s last chance to pull ahead, Bunker went in aggressively for the layup when a foul was called. With 1.6 seconds left on the clock, it was up to Bunker to determine the outcome of the game. Bunker states, “When I was on the line, the saying ‘free throws win games’, kept repeating in my mind. I was trying to relax and breathe in order to make my shot because I’ve shot and made thousands of free throws and I just needed to finish it.” Unluckily, Bunker missed the first shot, and a timeout was called. Returning to the line, shooting for the last opportunity, Bunker sunk the shot. Bunker exclaims, “After I made the shot, I felt so relieved and just so excited.” Glenwood held possession now but was unable to get a game-winning buzzer-beater. And just like that, the Palisade Girls Basketball team won the game with the impressive finish of Bunker and all of the hard work and incredible plays that happened prior from each individual’s efforts that ended in a triumphant win.