(November 26, 2002) It almost turned into a dream finish for New Buffalo's girls basketball team. Bison all-state guard Karla Mast, who took an elbow to the eye and cheek during the first half of Monday's Class D regional semifinal against Mendon, dominated fourth-quarter play and all but erased Mendon's seven-point lead.

But the dream finish never materialized and the reality of a spectacular season coming to a shocking close settled in, as the Hornets upset the No. 4-ranked Bison, 48-47. Mast, who sparked New Buffalo to an early 10-0 first-quarter lead with eight points, got knocked in the face with about a minute to go in the first. She didn't score in the second quarter, and didn't even start the third. "At one point, she was out cold," said New Buffalo coach Randy Mast, '75 alumnus and Karla's father. "Our principal (Ron Hart) and an athletic trainer looked her over and kept an eye on her during the third quarter." While Karla sat on the bench for the first five minutes of the third with a large bag of ice on the left side of her face, Randy Mast could only watch as Mendon took advantage.

The Hornets outrebounded the Bison in the quarter, 13-4, and cashed in on seven New Buffalo turnovers, several of which were ball-handling problems caused by the Mendon press. Mast returned with 2:56 to go and immediately made her presence known with a bucket. She added a pair of free throws in the third, which narrowed the Hornet lead to five, 42-37, entering the fourth. Mast, who finished with a game-high 22 points, turned up the intensity in the closing minutes of the fourth. With Mendon leading 48-41, Mast scored off her own steal, then connected on two more free throws, making the score 48-45 with a minute to play. She wasn't done. Mast stole yet another Mendon ball and hit another pair of foul shots, making the score 48-47 with 40 seconds to go.

Coming out of a Mendon timeout, Mast blocked a shot, but a foul by Bison guard Jessica Bandurski with 11.3 seconds left sent Mendon guard Lynsie Crouch to the line. She missed the front-end of the one-and-one, and the Bison got the rebound, setting up one last chance. With 7.2 seconds left, Mast brought the ball upcourt but a botched pass sent the ball out of bounds. Mendon then ran out the clock. Mendon outshot New Buffalo 43 percent (20-for-46) to 32 percent (16-for-50). The Bison (20-3) had just four field goals in the second half, three of which came from Mast. Bandurski, who had a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter, scored 12 for New Buffalo.

Despite losing the game and suffering injury, Karla stood tall after the game. "I still can't feel my teeth and I don't remember the first half," she said with a slight smile. "It's been fun and I wish it wouldn't end."

Source: The Herald Palladium

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