Senior Mallory Thompson stepped up to the line with 43 seconds left in regulation and the game tied 54-54.

After having been fouled, the West Lauderdale High School combo guard knew these shots could potentially decide the game. 

“I was just praying I’d make them,” Thompson said.

She hit both, and Louisville High School was unable to get a basket on its final possession, handing the Lady Knights a hard-fought 56-54 victory in Friday night prep basketball action. In a game with multiple lead changes — West Lauderdale trailed 28-26 at intermission but led 40-35 at the end of three — Lady Knights head coach Matt Lum said he had confidence his players would be able to stay composed late in the game.

“We’ve been in that situation a lot,” Lum explained. “We had some confidence in ourselves. We’ve talked all year long about not panicking and finishing plays. We forced them to take a difficult shot (at the end), and it worked out for us.”

The game began with both teams managing just 10 total points in the first five minutes of the contest as Louisville jumped out to a 6-4 lead. West Lauderdale was able to go on an 11-0 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes before the Lady Wildcats hit a field goal and a free throw to end the quarter, giving the Lady Knights a 15-9 lead after one.

West Lauderdale struggled somewhat in the second quarter, finishing with just 11 points in the frame as the Lady Wildcats ended the half on an 11-0 run to take a two-point advantage into the half. 

“It was highly competitive, highly intense,” Lum said. “I thought it was a game of momentum. We went at them, they they would turn around and go at us. We just got fortunate to be there in the end.”

In the third quarter, West Lauderdale managed 14 points while limiting the Lady Wildcats to just eight, giving them a five-point lead going into the final period. What followed was a back-and-forth eight minutes in which Louisville finally tied the game 54-54 on a 3-point basket at the 58-second mark. Thompson, who had eight of her 18 points in the final eight minutes, then drew a foul with 43 seconds remaining to set up her game-winning free throws.

“She does a lot of good stuff,” Lum said. “She’s a very unselfish player. I know she made a couple of free throws in the end and made a couple of big shots, but she also made a couple of big passes in crucial spots that led to baskets.”

Against Louisville, Thompson made a habit of driving to the basket, displaying good ball skills while keeping her team in the game.

“I knew they wanted to foul and were really aggressive, so I knew driving to the basket would work,” Thompson said. 

Maggie Wooldridge added 11 points to West Lauderdale’s total, and Dashea Hunt finished the game with nine points.

West Lauderdale rose to 6-2 on the season.

WEST BOYS 60, LOUISVILLE 59

Stone Fielder led the Knights in scoring with 25 points as West Lauderdale defeated Louisville.

Malik Gale added 10 points for the Knights.

West Lauderdale (2-4) will play at the Philadelphia tournament Saturday versus Lake High School.