HOWELL — It was, in its essence, a quintessential state basketball tournament moment.
Hartland sophomore Whitney Sollom had been doing what she normally does: block shots, alter shots, score inside and rebound for the Eagles.
But, with a half-second left on the clock in the first half of Wednesday’s, Graysen Cockerham inbounded the ball to Sollom, who was the only girl open.
Sollom took the ball, turned toward the basket and fired the ball toward the basket from about 25 feet away as the buzzer sounded.
It hit the backboard and went in, to the delight of Sollom and a sizeable contingent of Hartland fans.
“I’ve been practicing that 3,” she said, with a deadpan delivery.
Her coach, Don Palmer, went along.
“We work on the 40-foot bank shot every day in practice,” he said after the Eagles downed Howell 40-37 in a Class A district semifinal at Howell High School on Wednesday.
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The 3-pointer, as surprising and unlikely as it was, wasn’t Sollom’s key moment.
That came with nine seconds left, when she hit two free throws to give Hartland a 40-37 lead. That, in turn, forced the Highlanders to put up a 3 to tie it. Lexie Miller’s attempt bounced off the rim, and Howell’s season was over.
Hartland led after a Nikki Dompierre 3-pointer gave the Eagles a 8-5 lead in the first quarter. They extended the lead to 10 in the second quarter and Sollom’s 3 made it 21-11 at halftime.
A key part of the Hartland surge was on defense, where Sollom and Emily Messner both had double-doubles, combining for 23 points, while holding Howell’s Leah Weslock to just four, well below her average.
In the first half, Miller had the yips at the free throw line, missing an uncharacteristic five out of six at the line. She came out for the second half and immediately went to the free throw line. The work paid off: She was 10-for-12 at the line in the second half.
But Hartland’s twin towers, Sollom and Messner, both kept Weslock off the scoreboard and the rest of the Highlanders off the boards for much of the night. That overcame an off night for Hartland guards, who had trouble at times handling the ball and avoiding turnovers.
It was the third meeting of the season between the teams, and each won on the other’s home floor, with Hartland doing it twice.
“It was a great game to play,” Miller said afterward. “It’s just an honor to be able to play basketball.
“It was all pretty much mental,” she said of the challenges each team faced. “I think basketball is more mental than physical. You play the same team over and over, and it’s going to go back and forth. We played hard. I’m proud of everyone.”
Messner had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Hartland (17-5), which takes on South Lyon East on Friday. Sollom had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Miller led all scorers with 18 points.
In conclusion, this must be said: Sollom, while being 6-4, has the range to hit 3-pointers and probably will shoot more of them over the course of her career.
But none will be like the halftime buzzerbeater, which was the kind of shot one puts up in the driveway, or before practice, on a lark.
Put it up 100 times, maybe hit once.
But on Wednesday night, once was all Sollom, and the Eagles, needed.
