DIVISION II GIRLS Cols. Eastwood won't forget countless shot

3-pointer void with 3 seconds left as Walsh Jesuit won state title 43-40
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Columbus Eastmoor, and particularly coach Jim Miranda, will never forget the shot that didn't count.
Kathleen Gladstone hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 left to close the scoring and Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit weathered a wild last 10 seconds to beat Eastmoor 43-40 Saturday and capture the Division II girls state championship.
With Eastmoor's Warriors hustling down the floor for a possible tying 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, Miranda signaled for a timeout just as Cherise Daniel flipped up a shot behind the arc that hit nothing but net. Since the timeout had been called and the whistle was sounding as she released the shot, the basket was disallowed.
"It's a coach's nightmare," Miranda said quietly.
Daniel fell to the floor in disappointment before joining her teammates in the huddle.
Daniel didn't hear anything
"I didn't hear anything. Their players were scattered over the court and I knew the clock was going down," Daniel said. "It went in. I thought it should have counted since I didn't hear anything."
There was no question that the timeout was called before the shot.
"I saw the ref blow her whistle and put her hands up to call the timeout," Walsh coach Don Smith said. "We'll take it, no question."
The title came in Walsh's first trip to the state tournament and ruined Eastmoor's first appearance in the final four.
"I respect Cherise and the tremendous job she does with her athleticism," said Miranda, who was selected as co-coach of the year in the state by The Associated Press. "We wanted to set it up so she could get that shot. My focus was on the official, on getting her to call the timeout. We signaled for it just as we brought the ball over midcourt. Cherise kept playing -- and made it.
"Now I'm kicking myself in the head."
Daniel's 3-pointer with a second left was off the back of the iron, touching off a wild celebration by Walsh Jesuit's players and fans.
Zaccari had 13 points, 11 rebounds
Johnna Zaccari scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Walsh (25-3), which was ranked 10th in the final Associated Press regular-season poll.
Daniel had 12 points and Ayana Dunning added 11 points and 13 rebounds for No. 5-ranked Eastmoor (25-3).
Walsh appeared to be in command after opening with a 10-2 spurt. It led 31-21 late in third quarter before Eastmoor made its move with an 11-0 run that included a technical foul on the Walsh bench.
Dunning's follow to open the fourth quarter gave Eastmoor its first lead of the game. Zaccari made a 3-pointer, then another controversy erupted.
After Eastmoor had taken a shot and then turned the ball over on the offensive rebound, the officials met and then called both coaches together at midcourt.
They ruled that a correctible error had occurred when a foul had been committed at the other end of the floor, before the Eastmoor possession took place. Daniel, who had drawn an offensive foul on the earlier Walsh possession, was awarded a one-and-one and she hit both free throws to tie the game with 6 minutes remaining.
Walsh went up 38-34 on baskets by Caitlin Sureck and Kristin May, and led 40-36 after a Gladstone jumper in transition.
Eastmoor second-team All-Ohioan Teresa Scott responded with a bucket and Dunning hit another rebound basket to tie it at 40 with 2:11 left.
Gladstone, carrying four fouls for most of the second half, then hit the big 3-pointer from near the top of the circle with 1:45 left.