Senior forward hits shot at buzzer to propel Pirates to non-league victory

A blue collar type of player that is counted on to do the little things to help her team, Riverside senior forward Abby Heaberlin did not expect to find the basketball in her hands in the closing seconds of a tied game against West Liberty-Salem on Thursday.

“Basketball is not my primary sport,” admitted Heaberlin, who averages 5.7 points per game.

However, Heaberlin took advantage of her rare opportunity to be the hero for the Pirates’ girls basketball team.

She buried a fadeaway jumper from about nine feet out at the buzzer as Riverside stunned the host Tigers 47-45 in a battle of former West Central Ohio Conference rivals.

Heaberlin’s winning basket was the only shot she made from the field Thursday. She finished with four points.

“Coach (Dean Sanford) said after the game that I would probably be the last one anybody would expect that to happen to,” said Heaberlin with a laugh. “That was definitely the biggest shot I’ve ever made.”

With the score tied at 45-45 with 10.9 seconds remaining, the Tigers missed a pair of free throws and Riverside corralled the rebound.

Riverside’s first attempt at a game-winning shot was spoiled by the Tigers, who deflected the ball out of bounds under the Pirates’ basket with 2.4 seconds remaining.

On its game-winning play, Riverside inbounded the ball to forward Sarah Schindewolf in the corner. With nobody open, Schindewolf quickly dumped the ball off to Heaberlin, who had her back to the basket.

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