It may not have been the best time to shoot the shot.
But timing is everything.
Ella Meyer hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining Saturday to help the Helias Lady Crusaders rally to defeat the St. Joseph Benton Lady Cardinals 36-27 in a loser's bracket semifinal game in the Jefferson Bank Holiday Hoops Classic at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"I told Ella when I put her in, I wanted her to get her shot and shoot," Helias coach Alan Lepper said. "It was a big shot for her, it should give her some confidence because she is a kid who can score."
Helias led by four at 28-24 as the clocked ticked down under two minutes. After a Lady Crusader miss and rebound, the ball ended up in Meyer's hands and with no hesitation, she drilled the 3 from near the top of the key for her only points of the game to make it 31-24.
The Lady Crusaders then went 5-of-6 at the free-throw line in the final minute to seal the victory. Helias was 8-of-13 from the line in the fourth quarter.
"Those can cost you a game, it was big to hit those," Lepper said.
Neither team was hitting much of anything in the first half, which ended with Benton holding a 14-12 lead. The Lady Cardinals were 3-of-12 from the field, with all of their baskets coming on 3-pointers, while Helias was 4-of-16, all of the makes being 2-pointers.
"It was like nobody wanted to score," Lepper said. "It just wasn't good basketball."
That was brought up during the halftime talk.
"We challenged them to turn up the intensity and just go out and play," Lepper said.
A 3-pointer by Kylie Bernskoetter gave Helias its first lead since the opening two minutes at 17-16 with 5:20 to go in the third quarter. She hit another 3 later in the quarter as Helias took a 23-19 advantage into the final period.
"She has a pure shot, she's shown she can hit them for us," Lepper said.
The third-quarter surge came with leading scorer Lindsey Byers on the bench after picking up her third foul.
"The other kids stepped up when we needed them," Lepper said.
The nine-point final margin was the biggest of the game for either team.
Kianna Herrera had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lady Cardinals, who will play Hickman in the seventh-place game at 1 p.m. today.
Byers had 13 points, including a 6-of-9 performance at the line in the fourth quarter, for Helias. Bernskoetter added nine points, while Rylee Kolb pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
"She's not tall, but she's so quick and can jump," Lepper said.
Helias (4-3) will play Eureka today in the fifth-place game at 2:30 p.m. today.
Eureka advanced with a 54-35 win against Hickman in the first game Saturday.