A game that appeared to be just outside Dixie State's grasp, suddenly became well within reach.
For that, the Red Storm can thank their cat quick guard from Hurricane.
Shanae Vaifanua gathered what seemed like an errant pass from teammate Johnna Brown, spun and threw in a lay-up with 32 seconds left to give Dixie State an 85-84 lead against Pittsburg State. The score held up as DSC dodged a couple bullets in the closing seconds and picked up the victory, its 13th straight at Burns Arena.
"It's a really big win for our program," said DSC forward Tanya Clark, who led the team with 17 points and 11 rebounds. "It was really exciting."
Was it ever. The teams engaged in a frantic struggle, with the leads changing hands 15 times. The Gorillas (2-3), who received three votes in the preseason top 25 poll and finished third in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association a year ago, led 84-79 with 2:17 to go before the Red Storm (2-1) began to chip away at the lead, hitting four free throws to make it 84-83 with less than a minute to go.
Just in time for Vaifanua's heroics.
"I knew Johnna was going to make the pass and I was ready to catch it," said Vaifanua, who had 15 points and four rebounds. "(Brown) threw it to the side and I lunged for it. I was so scared I was out of bounds, but I wasn't."
"I spun and looked at the rim, but I kind of just threw it up there. I didn't think it was going to go in because it rolled."
Ample time remained for an answer and the Gorillas went back to their bread and butter - DePrice Taylor (22 points) on the move. The guard penetrated and drew a second defender, Chambers, who raked her across the forearm with 12 seconds remaining.
However, Taylor missed two straight free throws for the second time in a row. Clark grabbed the rebound and located Vaifanua, who was fouled.
The sophomore couldn't hit either of her freebies either, which sent Pitt State scurrying toward the other end. Speedy guard Maya Onikute (12 points, six rebounds) charged ahead, but lost track of the clock and was unable to get a shot off on time.
Thirteen DSC players made appearances, which seemed to help the Red Storm's conditioning late in the game.
"I can't say enough about our depth," said DSC coach Angie Kristensen. "At the end we put Keeshya (Cox) in there and she gets a stop on their best player. I was really happy with the win."
Dixie State's Shanae Vaifanua - who hit the game-winning shot Friday - drives to the basket against Pittsburg State. (Jud Burkett / The Spectrum & Daily News)
