Buzzer-beating layup drops Mount Si record to 5-5

Things never go according to the script. This truth was on display in a KingCo 4A girls basketball matchup Jan. 5 between the Mount Si Wildcats and the Issaquah Eagles.

Issaquah, which trailed Mount Si 48-47 with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock, had one last chance to pull out a victory. Issaquah guard forward Alivia Stephens-Kirkman was throwing the ball in and looking for Issaquah sharpshooter Luci Stewart on the final play of the game. Stewart was covered like a blanket by Mount Si’s defense. With a five-second violation looming, Stephens-Kirkman unleashed a perfect pass to freshman guard Camryn Gibson, who was cutting hard toward the basket. She caught the pass and release a perfect lay-up at the buzzer, lifting the Eagles to a dramatic 49-48 victory against the Wildcats.

“The play was actually going to me but they (Mount Si) were covering me. Cam was wide open. When I saw that she (Stephens-Kirkman) passed to Cam, I was like we’re good. I knew she was going to make that,” Stewart said.

Issaquah head coach Jackie Bykonen was thrilled with the outcome.

“We didn’t draw it up that way but we (coaching staff) said Cam would have a good moment in this game and she had one. She was in the right spot at the right time,” Bykonen said.

Mount Si head coach Jason Marr was proud of his team’s performance in defeat.

“It was just one of those things that could had gone either way,” Marr said of the outcome. “It was a really good game. We played so hard.”

Mount Si dropped to 5-5 overall, while Issaquah improved its overall record to 4-3.

Mount Si girls basketball co-captain Sam Smith defends against Issaquah in a Jan. 5 away game. Issaquah one the game in a dramatic last-second layup. (Photo courtesy of Charles Samuelson)

Mount Si girls basketball co-captain Sam Smith defends against Issaquah in a Jan. 5 away game. Issaquah one the game in a dramatic last-second layup. (Photo courtesy of Charles Samuelson)