By Don Ketchum

It seemed like a deficit too big to overcome for the girls basketball team from Phoenix Horizon in their Class 5A Division II quarterfinal game on Friday night (Feb. 25).

The 10^th-seeded Huskies trailed host No. 2 seed Surprise Valley Vista by 11 points at halftime and seven at the end of three quarters.

They managed to battle back to lead briefly twice in the final 1:08, but they still trailed by a point after calling a timeout with 1.9 seconds left.

Mandi Yantovich inbounded the ball along the sideline to Madison Austin, who was behind the three-point arc along the right baseline. There was nothing she could do but shoot. The ball left her fingertips almost as quickly as it had first touched them, and it went in for a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, giving Horizon an improbable 66-64 victory.

Horizon (19-10) now moves on to the semifinals on Wednesday (March 2) at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale against third-seeded Phoenix Pinnacle, a 71-54 winner over Scottsdale Chaparral on Friday night. Time will be announced later. Horizon played Pinnacle twice during the Desert Valley Region season and lost 63-50 and 72-50.

Austin’s teammates swarmed around her after the shot went in. Some Valley Vista players sat stunned on the floor. Others wept. It was understandable. They had given it their all.

“We’ve played this team quite a few times over the last few years, and every game has been a great game,’’ said Horizon coach Josiah McDaniel. “They (Valley Vista) battled so hard. They made things hard on us.’’

It was an amazing performance by Austin, who scored 20 of her 28 points in the second half.

“We had to get it in to the post right away. I squared it up, shot it and it went in,’’ Austin said.

“We won this thing together. It took everybody.

“At halftime, we weren’t too worried. We just kept saying, “We’ve got this.’ We just said we were all going to come together and play as hard as we can. At that point, we didn’t really have much to lose.’’

Valley Vista (21-8) played aggressive defense through most of the first half, creating numerous turnovers that led to fast-break baskets, and using its quickness to stay a step ahead.

Horizon chipped away in the third quarter and into the fourth. A three-pointer by Paige Picciotti tied it at 57 with 2:55 left. Valley Vista countered with a three-pointer from the corner by Lacey Viselli with 2:33 left, taking a 60-57 lead.

Picciotti hit two free throws with 2:09 left and Austin hit a pair with 1:08 left to put Horizon up 61-60. Maraja Johnson made a steal and scored with 30 seconds left to put the Monsoon back in front 62-61.

Austin hit another bucket and had a chance to finish off a three-point play with 16.6 seconds left, but couldn’t convert the free throw. Viselli scored on a putback with about two seconds left, and it looked as if the Monsoon would hold on until Austin’s big shot.

Picciotti and Sammi Bell each scored 11 to help the Horizon cause. Desiree Phillips led Valley Vista with 19 points, Johnson had 18 and Viselli had 14.