AURORA | Shaya Kelley beat the final buzzer with a bank-shot 3-pointer Tuesday night that brought the Aurora Central faithful to its feet in celebration.
The shot from a few steps beyond the 3-point line was the cherry on top of a 30-point individual effort for Kelley and capped a mass fourth-quarter rally for the host Trojans, who rallied from a one-point deficit to defeat rival Hinkley 62-45.
Kelley far surpassed her previous season high of 18 points, while senior Stacy Sikfrit added 12 and freshman Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez 11 for coach Joseph Hill’s Aurora Central team, which snapped a two-game losing streak and evened its overall record at 7-7.
Hinkley got 25 points from senior Emma Josephson, whose layup just prior to the horn in the third quarter put her team ahead by a point. Senior Karen Peprah added eight and senior Leilah Swanson six for coach Todd Doherty’s team, which dropped to 2-13.
The Thunder tallied 17 points in the third quarter to take a 36-35 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Kelley stole a pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup that put the Trojans in front. Kelley had three more baskets and a pair of free throws during a 16-2 run to open the period and she finished with 17 in the final period.
Aurora Central turns right around for a Colorado League home game at 7 p.m. Thursday, while Hinkley plays host to Northglenn at 7 p.m. Friday in City League play.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Aurora Central 62, Hinkley 45
Score by quarters:
Hinkley 7 12 17 9 — 45
Aur. Central 19 6 11 26 — 62
Hinkley points: Emma Josephson 25, Karen Peprah 8, Leilah Swanson 6, Gianni Monroe 4, Vivian Bravo 2. Aurora Central points: Shaya Kelley 30, Stacy Sikfrit 12, Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez 11, Alayna McClain 8, Aditi Arreola 1