Leading for most of the second half, the Tem-Cats could only watch as Shreeka Hardeman hit two free throws with 7.2 seconds left to lift College Station A&M Consolidated to a 47-46 victory at Tiger Gym in a critical District 13-5A battle.
With the loss, Temple fell to 16-12 overall and 4-5 in district play. The Tem-Cats now are tied with Killeen Shoemaker, which defeated Belton 52-30, for the fourth and final playoff spot. A&M Consolidated (18-8) improved to 6-2 in 13-5A, tied with Bryan for second place.
Four of Temple’s five district losses are by a combined 12 points, including a last-second 37-35 loss to Consol last month.
Whereas untimely poor free-throw shooting and turnovers have cost Temple in late-game situations, Tem-Cats coach Don Layton could only point the finger at the officiating.
“The officiating was horrible - let me say that,” said Layton, whose squad connected on 13 of 15 free throws. “Normally, we expect that when we go on the road, but tonight it was a little bit worse.”
Trenette Smith’s free throw gave Temple a 46-43 lead before Consol’s Karla Gilbert scored on a layup to close the gap to 46-45 with 1:25 left.
After Karla Gilbert grabbed one of her game-high 14 rebounds, the Lady Tigers called timeout with 55.7 seconds left. After Consol patiently worked the ball for the best shot, Carriesa Porch misfired on a jumper. Consolo Palmer grabbed the rebound but was called for traveling, giving the ball back to Temple with 14.2 seconds left on the clock.
Leading 46-45, Temple turned the ball over at mid-court. Hardeman scooped up the loose ball and headed toward the right corner before the Tem-Cats’ Shaquanna Wall was whistled for a questionable foul, one of the many calls that upset Layton.
“It’s horrible to see a foul in the backcourt and a so-called inbounds violation settle the game like that,” Layton said, referring to an inbounds violation called against Kaetlyn Murdoch with 2:15 remaining and Temple leading 45-43.
“That’s hard for me to swallow when the game is decided for the kids instead of the kids deciding it in the end,” he added. “I don’t know in 14 years if I’ve seen a worse officiated game than what I saw right there.”
After Hardeman connected on both free throws, Wall had the ball slapped out of her hands at midcourt and the Lady Tigers began to celebrate as the seconds ticked away.
“We’ve been working on mental toughness,” said Consol coach Nelda Gilbert, whose team trailed the entire fourth quarter before Hardeman’s free throws.
“We’ve been working on taking our responsibilities and getting our roles on what we’re supposed to do. Anything else is an additional plus. Shreeka’s focus is defense and today she hit some crucial free throws and some jumpers that are an added plus.”
With 7:19 remaining in the fourth and the Tem-Cats up 36-33, Temple’s Monica McGill fouled out on another call Layton questioned.
Until then, McGill played outstanding defense, holding Karla Gilbert to just two of her team-high 16 points.
With McGill on the bench, Temple chose to double-team Consol’s 6-4 sophomore on the inside, which created wide-open jump shots for her teammates. Hardeman hit two jumpers, with the final one tying the game at 43 with 2:46 left.
“It was a turning point because we weren’t expecting McGill to play,” Nelda Gilbert said about McGill, who had missed the previous four games. “That was a mental setback for our girls but they got focused and did what they needed to do. Our focus was playing as a team and that’s what we did.”
Murdoch scored 13 of her team-high 16 points in the first half and Smith added 13 points for the Tem-Cats.
“We were doing fine but it got to the end where everything we touched was a foul,” Layton said. “The only problem I have with that is the inconsistency of it not being a foul on the other end. I hardly ever complain about the officiating, but this was horrible.
“It’s really not anything we did. Other than that, our kids played hard and I’m proud of their effort.”
Temple doesn’t play again until Tuesday, when the Tem-Cats host Shoemaker in a huge district battle that could determine the final playoff berth.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
