Avon's star comes off the bench and carries team to OT win against county rival

DANVILLE – After oversleeping for a morning workout led to her coming off the bench against host Danville in Saturday’s five-game Hendricks County Hoopfest, Avon freshman sensation Zakia Rasheed gave a rousing performance in the Orioles’ 73-72 overtime win.

In a wild, televised, tournament-like environment, the 5-8 do-it-all guard tied Danville scoring ace Ella Collier with a game-high 28 points. Rasheed had 12 points in the first quarter, 17 by halftime, eight points down the stretch in the Avon’s furious fourth-quarter comeback and played a key role in all three of the Orioles’ overtime buckets.

“I was late, so coach had to punish me and I get it,” Rasheed said. “I was very motivated by my team. We were down, and as a team we needed to come together, keep playing and not get down on ourselves.”

With the game snug throughout, Danville (5-2) seemed to take control in the fourth. The Warriors took their biggest lead at nine after Baylee Muse hit the front end of a one-and-one to make it 64-55 with 2:58 left.

But Avon (7-2) wasn’t done. Rasheed splashed a step-back 3, sophomore forward Hayley Nichols drilled her only 3, Danville missed a 3 and Rasheed found Nichols for a layup. Suddenly, Danville was up only three with 1:30 left. After a Danville turnover with 1:16 left, it was Nichols finding Rasheed for an open 3 on the right baseline to tie the game and set up overtime.

“They picked up the intensity and the physicality and did a really good job of putting us in difficult situations with the ball,” said Danville coach Kaley May.

Rasheed wasted little time in the extra session, sinking another step-back 3 to give Avon a 69-66 lead just 30 seconds in. She assisted on the Orioles' other two buckets – one on a cutting layup by senior Kelsi Dishman and the other a left-handed layup by freshman Alex Richard.

Collier sank a 3 for Danville to cut the Avon lead to one with 55 seconds left, and the Warriors had a chance on a putback as time expired. The officials huddled briefly after one apparently blew his whistle, but the lead official quickly called the game final.

“I have never played with that many people watching,” Rasheed said. “It was really different. When they were yelling at you and yelling at your teammates, it really motivated us that we needed to prove them wrong.”

Rasheed entered the game with just under five minutes left in the first quarter and promptly drilled a 3-pointer. Then another. And another. She ended with 11 points in the period to help Avon to a 17-17 tie.

“Kia is special,” said Avon coach Corie West. “A lot of kids would have hung their head (at being benched), but she responded.”

The Orioles struggled early with turnovers, finishing with 25, and never led by more than four. Richard had a double-double for Avon, scoring 16 to go with 12 rebounds. Nichols added 15 points.

Danville got balanced scoring throughout. Seven players scored for the Warriors in the second quarter alone. Collier’s late bucket gave the Warriors a 37-35 lead at halftime, marking the 15th lead change at that point. Senior guard Lexi Riggles finished with 16 for Danville, including four 3-pointers, and junior forward Jenna Cowart added 15.

Avon 73, Danville 72 OT

Avon         17 18 14 17 7– 73
Danville     17 20 18 11 6 – 72

Avon (7-2) – Name Gino Gino 0 0-0 0, Shelton 4 0-1 9, Richard 6 2-2 14, Dishman 1 0-0 2, Nichols 6 2-2 15, Jones 1 0-0 2, Rasheed 9 3-3 28, Castro 0 0-0 0, Cardwell 0 0-0 0, Kendrick 0 0-0 0, Proffitt 1 0-0 3, Francis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 7-8 73.

Danville (5-2) –  Muse 2 2-4 6, Cowart 6 2-2 15, Riggles 5 2-4 16, E. Collier 10 6-7 28, A. Collier 3 1-2 7, Turner 0 0-0 0, Wasson 0 0-0 0, Patterson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 13-19 72.

3-point goals: Avon 10 (Rasheed 7, Shelton, Nichols, Proffitt 1); Danville 7 (Riggles 4, E. Collier 2, Cowart 1).