Mike Kraft/MDN Our Redeemer’s freshman guard Tessa Carlson drives baseline against TGU defenders Brooke Best (13) and Emree Mohagen (14) during the first half of a game at Our Redeemer’s Christian School on Friday, Jan. 16.

It was just two weeks ago that the Our Redeemer’s girls basketball team found itself in the basement of the District 6 standings after dropping its third game in as many attempts.

Since then, the Knights have rattled off three consecutive victories to dig themselves out of a hole and move into the upper echelon of the district standings with just a few games remaining on the schedule.

Tessa Carlson knocked down a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with less than a minute remaining in regulation to stymie a late rally by TGU and move the Knights to .500 in district competition with a 55-51 victory over the Titans on Friday, Jan. 16, at Our Redeemer’s Christian School. Carlson’s only points of the second half proved to be the dagger after a tightly-contested final quarter.

“When I got the ball and the shot clock was about to run out, I kind of just threw it up,” Carlson said. “I just threw it up there and hoped for the best and got really hyped toward the end when I made that big 3.”

Unlike their game on Tuesday against Powers Lake-Burke Cetral, in which they had to rally from a 16-point deficit, the Knights led for the majority of the game. They led by as many as 12, taking a 31-19 lead into the locker room.

Despite the sizable lead, the Knights (8-5 overall, 3-3 District 6) knew that the Titans had a run in them and they were correct. TGU spent the entire second half chipping away at the Knights’ lead, and got as close as a basket six minutes into the third quarter. Lillian Kuntz knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter for her only points of the game. Bostyn Bailey netted seven of her game-high 22 points in the frame. Bailey converted two free throws with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter to cut Our Redeemer’s lead to 36-34.

“You could feel them creeping up a little bit and the momentum shifting, but I thought we did a great job of staying with it,” Our Redeemer’s coach Hart Andes said. “We still executed everything on the offensive and defensive end and at the end of the day we came out on top because we did those little things right.”

The Knights stretched their lead to 40-35 with a late basket by Kadyn Braun to end the third quarter, setting up for a down-to-the-wire finish.

“We just played team ball and we knew we just needed to stay in it and not get in our heads and keep playing one point at a time,” Braun said.

The Titans (8-6, 2-3) were never able to get closer than three in the final quarter, as the Knights matched TGU basket for basket down the stretch. Hannah Conway opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer for a 43-35 lead and Londyn Lauf netted four of her six points in the final stanza. TGU’s Brooke Best had nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. Her third basket, coupled with a free throw from Bailey brought the Titans to within 49-46 with 2:30 remaining.

“We talk about it every day that teams are going to go on their runs and we’re going to go on our runs, but at the end of the day we just have to withstand their runs and come out on top,” Andes said.

After Braun went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, Carlson drained the dagger 3-pointer from the left side with the shot clock about to expire to put an end to TGU’s comeback attempt.

‘We just had to keep our heads and keep our mental toughness and just keep playing as a team,” Carlson said.

Carlson finished with nine points, with her final three points proving to be the biggest of the night.

“At the end of the day, big-time players make big-time plays,” Andes said.

The Knights found themselves navigating foul trouble throughout the game. It started early, as fouls began racking up in the first four minutes of the opening quarter. It took just 3:12 before TGU was already in the bonus. The Titans shot 10 free throws in the first quarter and 24 for the game. They finished 16-for-24 from the line.

“We got them into a little bit of foul trouble, so that was nice,” TGU coach Chantel Luna said. “We had opportunities to sink those free throws and we missed a few. That’s kind of been a nemesis for us. Last year, we were a great free-throw shooting team, but we’ll just adjust and come back strong. We’re going to be fine.”

Auna Peterson, Lauren Strom, Carlson and Braun all dealt with foul trouble, but only Braun fouled out, but not until the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.

“We go so deep this year and everyone has to be ready to go,” Andes said. “Instead of having one sub, we go seven, eight, nine deep and they execute the game plan and that separates us from a lot of teams.”

TGU built an early lead thanks to free throws, as it only made two field goals in the first quarter with Bailey hitting two 3-pointers to bookend the stanza.

The Knights kept the Titans off the free-throw line in the second quarter, allowing them to create some separation on the scoreboard. Our Redeemer’s outscored TGU 19-7 in the quarter, knocking down nine shots. Peterson led the way with seven points in the quarter. Braun had six, while Strom added four and Carlson two.

“We had a lot of girls step up when we were in foul trouble and I really believe that helped us stay together,” Conway said.

Strom led the Knights with 16 points. Braun also finished in double figures with 10.

Our Redeemer’s hosts Velva in another District 6 contest on Thursday, Jan. 22. TGU hosts Surrey on Tuesday, Jan. 20.