Miller guides Rangerettes in overtime

Despite battling sickness, Benton sophomore Addisyn Miller scored nine of her 12 points in overtime Thursday at Rich Herrin Gym, giving the Rangerettes a thrilling 37-28 conference victory over Murphysboro.
"I'm battling kind of a sickness right now. Not everything was falling for me but after the four quarters were over, we all got it together and calmed down a little bit. Everything started to fall," Miller said.
Murphysboro's zone defense frustrated Benton shooters throughout the evening. Trailing 22-15 at the end of three quarters, Ember Milby nailed a three-ball early in the final stanza. That broke an 0-for-14 streak from beyond the arc.
"When you're not hitting shots you've got to find other ways to win. We were able to do that. We hadn't been zoned until Tuesday (at Herrin) so maybe we'll see more of that. We've got some good shooters but we didn't see that tonight," said Benton coach Andy Sloan.
No three was more crucial than Miller's 30 seconds into the overtime after she missed from the corner in the final seconds of regulation with the score knotted at 26-all.
"After I hit one (trey) I felt a lot better. I got a little more confidence and everything went smoothly from there," Miller said.
Zoe Carlton contributed eight points while Macie Cockrum and Ember Milby added seven each.
"I don't know what time that was in the overtime (3:27) but I felt like when she (Miller) hit it not only did it give her confidence but everybody on the floor. We struggled badly tonight but our kids didn't give up and kept fighting when things didn't go their way," said Sloan.
Miller's trey gave Benton a 29-27 lead. Miller continued her offensive onslaught in the overtime by draining four free throws and hitting a bunny underneath.
Murphysboro got just two points in the overtime period, both on free throws. The Lady Red Devils led by as many as eight points (22-14) late in the third quarter. The Rangerettes did not get their first lead of 26-25 until the final two minutes of regulation. Murphy's Ashley Jarrett, who led her team with 11 points, made a free throw with 43 seconds left to tie the contest. Following a timeout with 17 seconds left, Miller got a chance to win it with her corner shot that came up short.
Earlier in the week, Sloan became the school's all-time winningest coach in girls basketball with a 47-34 victory at Herrin. Sloan now has 131 career victories, beating the former record held by Sally Niemeyer from 1978 through 1995 with 130 victories.
The Rangerettes were scheduled to play at Hamilton County on Monday. They will travel to conference rival Harrisburg on Tuesday, Dec. 11.