Emma Martin hit a 10-foot jump shot with 35 seconds left Tuesday, giving the Trinity Catholic girls the lead for good, and the Celtics snapped a 21-game losing streak by beating Wichita-Central Christian Academy 36-34.
Martin, a sophomore guard, scored her only points of the game at the biggest time.
The Celtics have played the entire season without last year’s leading scorer, junior point guard Alex Suter-Tan, who is recovering from a torn ACL. And, against a rugged schedule, the Celtics have been close in two games – tournament losses to Chaparral and Lyons.
And yet, down the stretch Tuesday, the Celtics played with poise and control.
Trinity started well, leading 11-8 after one quarter as Brecken Dowsey scored seven early points, on her way to a career-high 13 points.
Central Christian Academy took a 20-18 lead at halftime, and both teams struggled to score in the third quarter, as the game was tied 25-25 after three.
The Celtics then hit several big fourth-quarter shots. Anika Paulsrud sank a pair of 3-pointers, and with the Celtics down three late, Eilley Cost stole an inbounds pass and scored.
That set the stage for Martin, who hit the biggest shot of the season for Trinity.
Dowsey added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Cienna Maskil had four points, nine rebounds, seven blocked shots and two steals.
Trinity Catholic improved to 1-15 and will travel Friday to Sedgwick.
