BY BRIAN HAMILTON
KNOXVILLE – Emery Tollett scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and made the game-winning block to seal the Johnson victory over Brenau on Saturday afternoon, but it was Megan Biliter that put her in position for the game-winning block, as Biliter had just scored a layup to give the Lady Royals a 73-72 lead with two seconds remaining.
“Emery Tollett just took over,” Johnson head coach Bryon Lawhon said after the game. “She wasn’t going to lose. She wasn’t feeling great today and the first three quarters were a little emotional, but in the fourth quarter she just kind of took the game over, then Megan made a very good play at the very end of the game. We kind of settled in a little bit more in the fourth quarter defensively, but we got a little haywire for about two quarters, but in the fourth quarter they just came back and did the things we’ve talked about.”
Johnson’s Megan Biliter goes up for the game-winning layup over a Brenau defender. Photo by Brian Hamilton
The ball went in to Sara Grace Bertolini, who attempted a three, but Tollett met her at the peak and blocked the shot for the 73-72 win on senior day.
Caylie Long opened the scoring on a layup for Brenau to give the Golden Tigers an early 2-0 lead, but Hailey Brooks hit a three on the other end to put Johnson in front 3-2. A three by Gibson Boykin would put the Lady Royals in front 6-2 with 6:25 to go in the first quarter.
A layup by Olivia Bolduc would stretch the Johnson lead to 8-2 with 5:58 to go in the quarter. Jael Flinn split a pair of free throws to make the score 8-3 and end an 8-0 Lady Royal run.
Boykin made a jumper to extend Johnson’s lead to 10-3, which was followed by a layup by Megan Biliter to make the score 12-3 with 4:11 remaining. Another Boykin basket made the score 14-3, as the Lady Royals’ run had ballooned to 14-1.
Brenau finally scored its first field goal since the opening basket when Emelia Askew made a layup to make the score 14-5 with under one minute left in the first quarter, but Brooks answered to stretch the Johnson lead to 17-5 with 41 seconds left. The Lady Royals would lead 18-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Takarria Smith opened the second quarter with a three to pull Brenau to within 18-10, but a pair of threes by Brooks and Emery Tollett gave Johnson a 23-13 lead with 7:15 left in the quarter.
The Golden Tigers began to make a dent in the Johnson lead in the second quarter, however, as a pair of baskets by Long and Sara Grace Bertolini cut the deficit to 23-18 midway through the second quarter.
A pair of free throws by Smith trimmed the Johnson lead to 25-23 with just over three minutes remaining, but Boykin would hit a layup to stretch the lead to 27-23 with with 2:54 left.
Bolduc made a layup to put the Lady Royals in front 29-23, but Askew made a three-pointer to make the score 29-26 with 2:18 left. Brenau would tie the game at 29-29 on a Kristina Peach triple with 1:30 to go.
Johnson answered on the next possession with a Bolduc three to give the Lady Royals a 32-29 advantage with 1:11 left, which was followed by a Bolduc layup to make the score 34-29 with 30 seconds remaining.
The Lady Royals would end the second quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 36-29 lead into intermission.
Caylie Long opened the third quarter with a layup to trim the Johnson lead to 36-31. Peach then drained a three-pointer to cut the Golden Tiger deficit to 36-34, which was followed by another Long layup to tie the game at 36-36, as Brenau opened the second half on a 7-0 spurt.
Brenau would take its first lead since 2-0 when Long sank a free throw with 8:17 left in the third quarter to make the score 37-36. A layup by Peach extended the Golden Tiger run to 10-0, giving Brenau a 39-36 lead with 6:25 left, as Johnson had still yet to score since halftime.
Johnson finally scored its first basket of the second half when Shamiya Francis made a jump shot with 5:34 to go, making the score 39-38. The Lady Royals would retake the lead on a jumper by Bolduc, which gave the Lady Royals a 40-39 advantage.
Brenau would retake the lead 41-40 on a layup by Anna Gliatta with 4:08 left in the quarter. A pair of layups by Caylie Long would put the Golden Tigers in front 45-40 with under three minutes remaining, capping off a 6-0 run.
Brooks made a layup to end the run and pull Johnson to within 45-42, but Brenau would extend its run to 13-3 when Bertolini hit a three to give the Golden Tigers a 52-43 lead with 53 seconds left. Biliter made a basket with 13 seconds left to stop the run and send the Lady Royals to the fourth quarter trailing 52-45.
A layup by Gliatta would extend the Brenau lead to 54-45 with just over eight minutes remaining, but Bolduc answered with a three to cut the deficit to 54-48. A three by Emery Tollett cut the Brenau lead to 54-51, as the Lady Royals began to push back with a 6-0 run.
Tollett extended the run to 9-0, as the sophomore nailed a three to tie the game at 54-54 with just over seven minutes remaining. Gliatta answered with a three-pointer on the other end to put Brenau back in front 57-54.
The Johnson coaching staff draws up the game-winning basket during a timeout. Photo by Brian Hamilton
Another three by Tollett — her third of the quarter — would give Johnson a 59-58 lead with 5:47 left. The Lady Royals would later take a 61-58 lead on a pair of Tollett free throws.
Brenau would retake the lead when Bertolini hit a three with 4:14 left, giving the Golden Tigers a 62-61 lead. Long hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 64-61, but a three by Tollett — her fourth of the quarter — tied the game at 64-64 with 2:28 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Alicia Cruz would put the Lady Royals in front 66-64 with 1:47 remaining. A pair of Tollett free throws would extend the Johnson lead to 68-65 with 1:10 left, but Gliatta nailed a three on the next Brenau possession to tie the game at 68-68.
Bolduc hit a three with 32 seconds remaining to put Johnson ahead 71-68, but Brenau would match when Sammi Spees hit a three to tie the game at 71-71 with 10 seconds to go.
Lawhon called timeout to draw up a potential game-winning basket, but Askew stole the inbounds and raced to the other end where she was fouled on a layup attempt. Askew made the first attempt, but missed the second. Tollett grabbed the rebound and called timeout with five seconds remaining.
The inbound pass went to Megan Biliter, who saw an opening and drove the lane for a layup, giving Johnson a 73-72 lead with one second left on the clock. Brenau then called timeout to try and set up a game-winning shot of its own.
“We drew it up for Emery (Tollett) to get a mismatch in the post and we wanted her to get on the blocks and either get fouled or get a 2-footer and make the bucket,” Lawhon said of the play call. “The call was to get the ball in to Megan and send it over to Emery and they fronted Emery in the post and credit to Megan, she saw the opening and made a basketball play. Two hard dribbles to the basket and made the layup, that’s one of her signature moves, rip-and-go from the elbow, so she noticed the play had dissolved and she just made a play.”
Bertolini caught the inbounds pass and went up for a three, but the shot was blocked by Tollett, sealing the 73-72 win for the Lady Royals.
“We went over what we wanted to do defensively and we changed some things in that last second that we normally don’t do, but one thing we always tell them is you cannot jump, you cannot reach, you cannot foul,” Lawhon said. “Emery did a good job of just going vertical and got her hands up and luckily got on the ball without fouling. Once again, Emery just came through.”
Emery Tollett led all scorers with 21 points, while 17 came in the fourth quarter. Olivia Bolduc scored 17 for the Lady Royals, while Hailey Brooks finished with 12 and Gibson Boykin added 11.
Tollett was also the leading rebounder for Johnson, finishing with 12. Megan Biliter also finished the game with 10 rebounds.
Brenau was led by Caylie Long’s 19 points, while Sara Grace Bertolini finished with 12. Anna Gliatta, Jael Flinn, and Emelia Askew finished with 10 apiece for the Golden Tigers.
Johnson (11-14, 10-9 AAC) will travel to Union Commonwealth (8-18, 6-13) on Sunday for their regular season finale.