‘Unbelievable’: Lady Panthers make State on buzzer-beater

There were just 6.7 seconds left on the clock at the Billings MetraPark arena — 6.7 seconds to the end of a very long day for the Jefferson High girls’ basketball squad, and perhaps 6.7 seconds remaining in their season.

The Lady Panthers were down, 39-38, to Ennis in the third-place game of the Southern Divisional tournament. It had been a bruising, leave-everything-on-the-floor battle for 31 minutes and 53.3 seconds, neither team able to take control for the final ticket to the Class B state tournament in Missoula.

But here was the Panthers’ chance. During the last time-out, the ball with Ennis, Coach Clint Layng had instructed: Play really tight defense, but no fouls. Get the rebound, then transition into a designed fast break and go to the rim. “If I don’t like what I see, I’ll call time-out.”