Italy Varsity Girls win a thriller in the 2nd round of tournament

Image: Rallying The Troops — Head Coach Stacy McDonald tries to rally her Lady Gladiators for a 2nd half comeback.

Rallying The Troops — Head Coach Stacy McDonald tries to rally her Lady Gladiators for a 2nd half comeback. (Barry Byers)

Image: Let’s Try This — Coach Stacy McDonald relied on some creative offensive strategies to help her young Lady Gladiator squad get back in the game against Mildred and eventually win by making a last second shot.

Let’s Try This — Coach Stacy McDonald relied on some creative offensive strategies to help her young Lady Gladiator squad get back in the game against Mildred and eventually win by making a last second shot. (Barry Byers)

Image: Freshman Standout Pursued — Freshman sensation Megan Richards can’t hide from the paparazzi as she exits the Italy Coliseum. Richards hit the game winner to defeat Mildred and catapult her Lady Gladiator squad into the Tournament Championship game.

Freshman Standout Pursued — Freshman sensation Megan Richards can’t hide from the paparazzi as she exits the Italy Coliseum. Richards hit the game winner to defeat Mildred and catapult her Lady Gladiator squad into the Tournament Championship game. (Barry Byers)

Image: Megan Richards Defends — Megan Richards #22 plays aggressive on defense against a Mildred Lady Eagle player. The game wasn’t always picture perfect for Italy, but Richards turned it into a masterpiece by stroking the winning jump shot with 3-seconds left in the game.

Megan Richards Defends — Megan Richards #22 plays aggressive on defense against a Mildred Lady Eagle player. The game wasn’t always picture perfect for Italy, but Richards turned it into a masterpiece by stroking the winning jump shot with 3-seconds left in the game. (Elaine Richards)

Image: Rebound — Italy’s #4 Marisela Perez, #22 Megan Richards and #32 Shay Fleming prepare to rebound a Mildred free throw. Rebound they did as Italy came from behind after a sluggish start to beat the Lady Eagles 35-31.

Rebound — Italy’s #4 Marisela Perez, #22 Megan Richards and #32 Shay Fleming prepare to rebound a Mildred free throw. Rebound they did as Italy came from behind after a sluggish start to beat the Lady Eagles 35-31. (Elaine Richards)

Image: Megan Richards Passes — Italy’s #22 Megan Richards zips a pass into the flank of the Mildred zone defense. Mildred won the battles but lost the war as the Lady Gladiators ambushed the Lady Eagles inside the dome.

Megan Richards Passes — Italy’s #22 Megan Richards zips a pass into the flank of the Mildred zone defense. Mildred won the battles but lost the war as the Lady Gladiators ambushed the Lady Eagles inside the dome. (Elaine Richards)

Image: Becca DeMoss Concentrates — Senior Captain, Becca DeMoss gets set to make a free shot as Junior #32 Shay Fleming and Freshman #40 Jimesha Reed get ready to fight for the rebound.

Becca DeMoss Concentrates — Senior Captain, Becca DeMoss gets set to make a free shot as Junior #32 Shay Fleming and Freshman #40 Jimesha Reed get ready to fight for the rebound. (Elaine Richards)

Image: DeMoss To Fleming — Becca DeMoss #5 passes to Shay Fleming #32 while Kyonne Birdsong #10 maneuvers into position as Italy attempts to punch through Mildred’s front line of Defense.

DeMoss To Fleming — Becca DeMoss #5 passes to Shay Fleming #32 while Kyonne Birdsong #10 maneuvers into position as Italy attempts to punch through Mildred’s front line of Defense. (Elaine Richards)

Image: Italy Wins Big — Italy’s margin of victory may not have been by much but the smile on Freshman Megan Richards’s face was as big as Texas after she hit the game winning shot that put the Lady Gladiators into the ‘big game’.

Italy Wins Big — Italy’s margin of victory may not have been by much but the smile on Freshman Megan Richards’s face was as big as Texas after she hit the game winning shot that put the Lady Gladiators into the ‘big game’. (Elaine Richards)

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