SISTERS – A program that isn’t used to winning sometimes finds doing just that a challenging task. Tuesday night’s thrilling overtime victory by La Pine is a big step forward for the Hawks in shaking years of on-the-court struggles.

Senior post Rachel Ramirez led a balanced offense with 13 points and she pulled down 15 rebounds as the Hawks outlasted Sisters for a dramatic 55-54 overtime victory in Sky-Em League girls basketball action.

The Hawks (1-1 Sky-Em, 9-4 overall) built a seemingly comfortable 13-point lead late in the third quarter at Sisters High, then let nerves get the better of them as the Outlaws mounted a furious comeback to eventually force overtime.

”We intended to pull it out and slow it down, work for a good shot,” said La Pine coach Kim Beer. ”But then we were afraid to shoot the ball. And when we got fouled, we weren’t making the free throws.

”We’re not used to being in that position. We started turning the ball over.”

Cammy Jacobson’s inside basket with 42 seconds left in regulation gave Sisters its first lead of the game at 43-42. But Maria Ramirez’ drive to the hoop 15 seconds later gave the Hawks back the advantage at 44-43.

After the Hawks were unable to convert on three consecutive one-and-one opportunities, the Outlaws had one final chance when Kali Ulmer was fouled on her shot attempt with no time remaining. After missing the first free throw, Ulmer sank the pressure-packed second shot to send the game into overtime.

”We were winning by 13 points in the second half and let up,” said Maria Ramirez, the Hawks’ point guard who had eight assists and seven steals to go with eight points. ”We were pretty nervous, especially when we made that foul.”

But La Pine opened the four-minute extra period on a 6-0 run, getting baskets from Autumn Van Meter, Maria Ramirez and Amanda Blankenship, to seize the lead for good.

”There was no holding back – we were going to attack the basket with everything we had,” said Beer. ”And that’s what we did.”

But the final moments were filled with tension after Ulmer later scored on a drive to the basket and Katie Hughes followed a Van Meter free throw with a three-pointer to pull Sisters within 53-51.

The Outlaws had a chance at the lead after the Hawks turned the ball over, but Hughes had a three-point try roll in and out, and Maria Ramirez converted two clutch free throws with 11.7 seconds to play to seal the victory.

”We just kept doing what we do – fastbreak and don’t stop shooting,” Ramirez said of the overtime strategy. ”This is a big win for our team.”

And it was a heartbreaking loss for Sisters (1-1 Sky-Em, 2-10 overall), whose comeback bid fell short.

”A pretty solid effort,” noted Outlaws coach Kevin Cotner. ”Twice we came back from big deficits.

”(During the comeback) we were attacking the hoop, but a lot of times we settled for mediocre shots. We just wanted to attack the hoop and our defensive intensity initiated it.”

Junior post Brandi Palmer scored 12 of her game-high 17 points after halftime to lead the Outlaws. Ulmer finished with 13 points and Hughes added 11 points.

Van Meter had 10 points and Kara Snyder added eight for La Pine.

”As far as trying to make the playoffs, this was a big game,” said Beer. ”This will certainly help their (the La Pine players) confidence.”

While the Hawks still have a long ways to go this season, Tuesday’s win was noteworthy in that it – the ninth of the year – is the most for a La Pine girls basketball team since the 1989-90 squad went 15-10.

”It gives us a ton of confidence and shows we can play with other teams,” said Maria Ramirez. ”It’s pretty nice.”

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Kurt Holland can be reached at 383-0305 or at kholland@bendbulletin.com.