The Skyline Spartans had all the momentum against the Bothell Cougars girls basketball team as both squads readied themselves for a four-minute overtime session.

Skyline guard Carly Werner tied the game at 56-56 as time expired in regulation on a difficult runner in the lane, sending the game to overtime. The sequence leading up to Werner’s game-tying shot was the epitome of a nail-biter experience.

With Bothell ahead 56-54, Skyline point guard Julia Mitchell unleashed a 3-point shot from the top of the key, which was off the mark as the seconds trickled off the clock. The shot, which fell short of the rim, eventually deflected off a Bothell player out of bounds, giving the Spartans one more chance with just 3.7 seconds left in the game. On the ensuing inbound pass, Skyline senior Kailey Kassubu found an open Werner who tied the game at 56-56 to force overtime.

The Cougars weren’t rattled by Skyline’s heroics in the final seconds.

Bothell outscored Skyline 9-1 in the four-minute overtime period en route to a dramatic 65-57 victory on Jan. 25 at Skyline High School in Sammamish. The Cougars knocked down seven free throws in overtime to seal the victory.

The Cougars improved their KingCo 4A record to 11-0 with the win while Skyline dropped to 7-4. Bothell head coach Kent Schaefer wasn’t surprised Skyline pushed his team to the limit.

“I think they’ve got a little bit of a different look in their eye than they have in the past. They are so explosive offensively and are pretty hard to slow down,” Schaefer said. “For one, I think our girls didn’t panic [in overtime]. We stayed composed and we made some free throws. We’ve done a good job of making free throws when we need to. We also got stops on defense. That was the biggest thing. To hold them to one point in those four minutes was a big deal.”

Skyline head coach Stacie Erfle was proud of her team for nearly toppling the No. 1 team in the KingCo 4A standings.

“It is a really weird feeling. We’re super kind of upset because that was so close but when you put it into perspective, it was Bothell and they are an incredible team that is top-ranked. We would had loved to have this [victory],” Erfle said. “We’re feeling good with our team and how far they’ve come right now. This team is great at finding ways to battle back and is showing a lot of resiliency.”

Skyline junior guard Jade Loville had a team-high 25 points in the loss for Skyline. With Bothell leading Skyline 17-7 in the first quarter, Loville scored seven consecutive points to close out the period, cutting Bothell’s lead to 17-14.

“Jade is a game-changer. She is an elite-level athlete,” Erfle said. “We want the ball in her hands. She has had an amazing season and has really grown as a player. We always expect great things from her. She went out and did a great job tonight.”

Bothell post player Taya Corosdale scored 21 points and senior Jada Romulus added 19 points in the win.