AIR FORCE ACADEMY -Cindy Mays' layup with 9 seconds remaining gave Kit Carson a 46-45 win against Caliche to advance to the semifinals of the Class A girls state basketball tournament.

"I really didn't want to choke," Mays said of her only basket of the second half.

"I just got it up as quick as I could and it went in."

The excitement of the game's last minute offset the scoring drought that lasted close to 5 minutes for both teams in the fourth quarter.

It started when Caliche's Alexa Kippes ripped the ball from Kit Carson's Jill Ball and found a sprinting Amy Marin for an uncontested layup to give Caliche a 45-44 lead with 45 seconds remaining.

On Kit Carson's next possession after a timeout, the Wildcats committed a five-second violation. Marin was fouled on an ensuing layup, but she missed the free throws.

Sara Mays pulled down the rebound, drove to halfcourt and found her sister, Cindy, beneath the basket for the lay-in.

"It was crazy," Cindy Mays said. "It's our first time in the tournament, and I'm glad we didn't go out that way."

Sabrina Dawson led the Wildcats (21-3) with 15 points, and Marin paced the Buffaloes (18-6) with 14 points.

Caliche......13	6	15	11	-	45
Kit Carson......13	8	14	11	-	46

C - Alexa Kippes 2 1-2 6, Andrea Ring 0 0-0 0, Amy Marin 5 3-4 14, Kelsey Stumpf 3 0-0 6, Tanya Morgan 3 2-2 10, Marissa Marin 3 1-2 7, Shawna Stieb 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 7-10 45.

K - Sara Mays 0 0-2 0, Cindy Mays 2 1-1 5, Tawna McDonald 4 0-0 8, Jill Ball 2 1-3 5, Melissa Jolly 6 1-4 13, Sabrina Dawson 5 0-0 15. Totals 19 3-10 46.

Three-point goals - C, Morgan 2, Marin; K, Dawson 5.

HAXTUN 55, MERINO 41 - Kassie Kroeger scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Bulldogs past the district rival Rams and into the state semifinals.

The senior pumped in 10 of her points in the second half to help the Bulldogs (20-4) keep a double-digit lead for much of the half.

Kara Dishman added 16 points for the Bulldogs, as they completed a three-game sweep of Merino this season. Danielle Hendricks scored 12 points to lead the Rams.

Merino......5	12	10	14	-	41
Haxtun......18	9	12	16	-	55

M - Sabrina Becker 3 0-0 7, Simone Shinpaugh 1 0-0 2, Callie Scalva 2 2-2 6, Danielle Hendricks 4 4-9 12, Sarah Owens 2 3-7 7, Richelle Fritzler 2 3-4 7, Kylie Hauer 0 0-0 0, Leslie Hase 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 12-22 41.

H - Mallory Green 1 3-4 5, Kara Dishman 4 7-10 16, Kassie Kroeger 8 2-2 18, Shaylee Salyards 2 0-2 4, Dara Kipp 3 2-4 9, Amber Widgery 1 0-0 2, Lindsay Kipp 0 1-2 1, Tiana Evans 0 0-0 0, Jessica Pierce 0 0-0 0, Erin Starkebaum 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-24 55.

Three-point goals - M, Becker; H, Dishman, D.Kipp. Fouled out - Scalva, Kroeger.

NORTH PARK 47, FLAGLER 40 - Top-seeded North Park faced an early scare from No. 8 seed Flagler but prevailed behind the free- throw shooting of Cassie Corkle.

Tied at 22 at halftime, Flagler (9-14) looked primed for an upset. North Park (22-1) had only a 34- 29 lead heading into the fourth, and Corkle continued attacking the lane. While the 5-foot-11 senior didn't make a basket, she accumulated free throws.

Corkle went 8-for-10 from the line in the quarter to finish with 16 points.

"She didn't score like she normally does, but she played real solid basketball and kept us up," North Park coach Randy Hodgson said.

Back to Top