White Station beats Ridgeway in Overtime

Using a ferocious full-court press, visiting White Station clawed back from a 12-point deficit to beat No. 6 Ridgeway, 66-55, in overtime Saturday.

The Roadrunners had been the only local team to beat the Spartans, winning 72-67 at Spartan Palace on Dec. 17.

White Station (19-2) trailed 30-24 at halftime and was down 12 after the Roadrunners scored six quick points to start the third.

But White Station's press soon started to pay big dividends.

"We knew we had to buckle down," said Spartans junior guard Alicia Payne. "We started to get some steals and some buckets."

Payne had a huge hand in White Station's comeback, scoring all 13 of her points after halftime. Jasmine Settles came off the bench to score 12 for the Spartans; Breanna Ridgell also had 12.

But the key was the inside play of 5-10 senior Ashley Small, who scored 18 points, including a basket in the paint with less than two seconds left that sent the game into overtime tied at 53.

She also shared in the thankless task of defending Ridgeway star Hasina Muhammad, who finished with 23 points.

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