Waldrons Controversial Sectional Title: The Buzzer

Sectional championships of girls high-school basketball took place this past Tuesday, and with that, achievements were made and dreams were crushed. Though the champions celebrated their mid-week accomplishments, by now most teams have moved their focus towards regionals. But after a controversial “no-call” made late in the sectional 60 championship matchup between Jac-Cen-Del and Waldron, it looks as if this will be remembered by many for a while.

   We all expected a great matchup between 1A’s #1 ranked team, Waldron against 1A’s #5 ranked team, Jac-Cen-Del. Yet such a controversial finish was not in the plan as the two championship contenders took the court. Down 51-48 with 4.3 seconds left to play, Waldrons Nicole Garner pushed the ball down the court before passing it out to senior McKenzie Shaw. All in one quick motion, Shaw turned, tossed up a shot and made a desperate three to send the game to OT. Waldron’s last-second three led them to a 65-58 victory over the Eagles and their first sectional title since 2010. 

Just 20 minutes after Waldron’s miraculous win, a Twitter account by the name of @TritonCBarstool posted a video from the JCD live broadcast of the championship. The video (linked below) shows a slowed-down version of McKenzie Shaw’s buzzer-beater. Though low quality, the footage shows the moment the backboard lit up signaling the end of regulation. While up for interpretation, it seems as if the most common census is that the ball still laid in Waldron’s senior McKenzie Shaw’s hands as the buzzer went off.

   Many students from Triton Central joined in on the controversy adding their thoughts and opinions over their Shelby County Rivals sectional championship. We reached out to the owner of @TritonCBarstool who mentioned to us “It was a good game but Waldron should not have won. The ball was shot after the buzzer.” 

   The comments came from both sides as many Waldron students were vocal in defense of their sectional title. A student who currently attends Waldron who wished to be unnamed told us “everyone here recognizes the shot was a close call, but the clock started early.” It is important to note that this is an unverified claim. We also reached out to three players on the Waldron girls basketball team for a comment on the situation; all three chose to decline. 

Despite all the controversy, basketball goes on. The Waldron girls basketball squad will play this Saturday in a regional matchup against Bloomfield.