Class A, No. 1 Waldron trailed by four points with 11.7 seconds on the clock. A historic season for a senior-laded squad was teetering on the edge of great disappointment.

Nichole Garner raced up the court unchecked and scored with 6.1 seconds to go. Class A, No. 5 Jac-Cen-Del still led 50-48 in the Sectional 60 championship game Tuesday night.

A quick foul sent Jac-Cen-Del senior Aundrea Cullen, her team’s best free-throw shooter, to the other end of the floor with a chance to secure the win.

Cullen missed the first leaving the Mohawks with a glimmer of hope. She converted the second to make it 51-48.

Garner would again race up the floor to push the defense back with the goal of finding sharpshooter Megan Bogemann trailing the play. But the clock was working against Garner, who slipped a pass to Mackenzie Shaw for a last-gasp three-pointer from the wing.

SWISH.

Shaw’s shot release came nearly simultaneously as the backboard light flashed and the horn sounded. Jac-Cen-Del was left stunned.

Garner took over from there and dominated the overtime session, scoring nine of her game-high 25 points to lead Waldron to a 65-57 victory and the program’s first sectional championship since 2010.

“Now that we’ve won it, I felt back in June when were playing all the bigger schools and trying to adjust to losing our four-year point guard, I felt like this group could be something special,” said Waldron head coach Anthony Thomas. “We get back in October and we’re a little bit late because of volleyball (winning a sectional title) and we hit the ground running and it kept building. I’m really not surprised. These kids just refuse to lose and they are so smart. I don’t want it to end. I’m just very happy for them.”

The end is near for Thomas and his seven seniors that will all leave the program once the season concludes. Thomas has already announced his intention to step down as the program’s head coach.

With the win, though, there are as many as four more games left to play if the Mohawks (22-1) keep advancing. Up next is Bloomfield (12-11) at the Southwestern Regional Saturday at noon.

Shaw (photo, arm raised) was not the first option for the game-tying shot but the situation dictated she take it from right in front of her bench. She admitted afterward that Thomas would have killed her if she didn’t.

“We drew up a trail play and (Shaw) was smart enough to realize the ball was on this side (of the court) and our trailer was on that side and she did what she needed to do,” said Thomas. “That’s a senior … court awareness and knowing what’s left on the clock. She let it go and I was right behind her and I’m like oh my goodness it’s good.

“Then I had to get them settled back down and play.”

The Waldron team that has spent nearly two months ranked No. 1 this season showed up in overtime.

Following an Annabelle Williams free throw to start the scoring in overtime for Jac-Cen-Del, the Mohawks scored the next five points and never trailed again.

Garner hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game again then Shaw scored off an offensive rebound and Bella Larrison connected from close range to take a 56-52 lead.

The Eagles had no offensive flow in overtime, hitting just 1-of-6 shot attempts and missing all five 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Garner was getting to the free-throw line, which was a source of agony for her throughout the game.

An 83% free throw shooter this season, the senior missed her first six attempts before making two with 13.2 seconds left in regulation. She hit 9 of 12 in overtime.

“Just hit ‘em when it counts Nic,” said Thomas with a smile about encouraging Garner to keep battling when she was obviously frustrated. “It would have been nice to hit them earlier but she calmed down too and she gets that mentality, and all the kids know to get her the ball. I felt bad for her when she missed a layup near the end of regulation and you could see the look on her face, but what does she do? She comes back and puts the game away in overtime.”

Both teams had opportunities to seal the game from the free-throw line. The Eagles hit 20-of-30 (67%) while the Mohawks were 18 of 32 (56%).

Larrison finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Shaw had 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Williams, playing her final game for Jac-Cen-Del (19-7), had 21 points and five rebounds. A member of her school’s 1,000 point club, she is committed to play basketball at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati next season.

Jalee Rider and Reese Obendorf each had seven points.

“Hats off to Jac-Cen-Del. I have a ton of respect for them,” said Thomas. “If you beat them in Sectional 60, you’ve done something. I am super proud of my kids.”

Waldron 68, Jac-Cen-Del 57, OT

JCD: Williams 7-9 5-7 21, Rider 3-5 1-2 7, Obendorf 1-3 4-4 7, Hughes 2-4 0-0 6, Sparks 1-4 2-4 4, Cullen 0-9 5-7 5, Meyer 0-0 0-0 0, Neal 1-2 0-0 2, Newhart 1-2 3-6 5, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-38 20-30 57.

WA: Had. Ross 1-2 0-0 2, Shaw 4-11 2-3 12, Bogemann 3-5 1-5 9, Garner 7-13 11-20 25, B. Larrison 5-15 4-4 15, J. Larrison 1-2 0-0 2, Fewell 0-0 0-0 0, Hal. Ross 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-48 18-32 68.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

JCD (19-7)  11  13  15  12    6  --  57

WA (22-1)  17  13  10  11  14  --  65

Three-point field goals: JCD 5-18 (Williams 2-3, Obendorf 1-3, Hughes 2-3, Cullen 0-8, Neal 0-1), WA 5-12 (Shaw 2-3, Bogemann 2-4, Garner 0-1, B. Larrison 1-4). Rebounds: JCD 24 (Williams 5, Rider 4, Obendorf 2, Hughes 2, Sparks 4, Cullen 1, Newhart 6), WA 32 (Had. Ross 6, Shaw 10, Bogemann 2, Garner 2, B. Larrison 6, J. Larrison 5, Fewell 1). Assists: JCD 6 (Williams 1, Obendorf 2, Hughes 2, Sparks 1), WA 7 (Had. Ross 1, Garner 4, B. Larrison 2). Steals: JCD 3 (Williams 2, Newhart 1), WA 3 (Bogemann 2, B. Larrison 1). Blocks: WA 3 (Shaw 2, Bogemann 1). Total fouls: JCD 19, WA 20. Fouled out: Rider (JCD). Turnovers: JCD 13, WA 12.

Photos by Tyson Conrady