By Don Ketchum

When Darian Slaga was in eighth grade, she probably didn’t know much about her next school, Anthem Boulder Creek. All she knew was she wanted to play basketball there.

And as for Josiah McDaniel, she probably didn’t know that he was unceremoniously fired as girls coach at Phoenix Horizon after leading the team to the old Class 5A Division II semifinals. She probably never even heard of Horizon.

But the fates brought them together for the 2011-12 season at Boulder Creek, McDaniel as the Jaguars’ new coach and Slaga as a talented freshman.

Slaga, a 5-foot-7 guard, stepped up in a big way on Friday night (Dec. 2), when McDaniel faced his former Horizon team. She scored 29 points to help host Boulder Creek earn an emotional 63-53 victory in overtime.

Boulder Creek raised its record to 4-2, while Horizon fell to 3-2.

“We knew there would be a lot of emotion,’’ McDaniel said.

“I think they wanted to win (for him), but they really wanted to win for themselves. They want to be good. This is the first time this season when they’ve played as a team for four quarters. I was proud of the way the kids played.’’

When the pregame introductions were made, McDaniel greeted the Horizon players, as is customary. As senior Madison Austin shook his hand, he told her, “It’s hard to be on this side.’’

It indeed was difficult coaching against the players he fought so hard with, but now there is a new group breathing fresh life into him.

Asked what he thought when he saw Slaga in practice for the first time, McDaniel smiled and said, “It’s going to be a fun year. It’s going to be a fun four years.’’

Boulder Creek grabbed a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but was outscored 17-5 in the second and trailed 22-15 at intermission. The game was in danger of getting away from the Jaguars.

Something clicked late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, as Boulder Creek went on a 13-0 run to take a 40-32 lead.

Horizon, led by former Phoenix Shadow Mountain coach Gerrard Carmichael, didn’t fold. The Huskies battled back to tie it at 50 and sent the game into overtime as Austin scored 12 of her 16 points down the stretch.

In overtime, Slaga scored four points, post player Sam Young scored three (she finished with 17 points) and Delaney Swader  came up with a couple of key steals and baskets as Boulder Creek dominated.

The clock ticked to 0.0, and McDaniel exchanged a few high fives with his players. The long, emotional night was over.