JAY- It seemed as though nobody was aware of Jessica LaBrecque sneaking behind the defense, but Kaylie DeMillo noticed.

Jay’s freshman point guard spotted her Tiger teammate all alone at the left side of the basket.

She threaded a pass across the paint through a host of Telstar hands for LaBrecque to lay in for the game-winning basket with 16 seconds left. LaBrecque and DeMillo then finished off the Rebels with some late free throws in a 52-46 win.

“I was drifting down,” said LaBrecque. “I wasn’t expecting the pass at all. That’s not part of the play, but I was wide open.”

Though Jay had built a 10-point lead early in the third quarter, the Rebels had made a valiant run and had the lead midway through the final quarter. A Jillian Kimball baseline jumper with 1:40 left tied the game at 46. After a series of turnovers, Jay had the ball with 52 seconds left. The Tigers worked the ball around in the offense waiting for the right moment.

“We basically said if we get an open layup, go for it and it better go in,” said LaBrecque.

Telstar was expecting Jay to run the clock down to the final seconds before shooting. DeMillo’s quick pass changed that.

“We went to our five-man passing game and told them the only thing that we were going to get was a layup,” said Jay coach Chris Bessey. “We worked the ball around. Sometimes when you make a defense work like that somebody comes open. She did a great job making the layup.”

Telstar had a crack at the equalizer. The Rebels freed up Chea Davis in the corner but the shot didn’t fall.

“We had a great look to tie it,” said Telstar coach Aaron Bean. “That’s all you can ask for.”

From there, Telstar had to foul and LaBrecque and DeMillo iced the win. DeMillo finished with 28 points while Sara Fetterhoff added eight. Telstar got 12 each from Krystle Gould and Abby Wentworth. Kimball chipped in 10.

Jay (11-3) and Telstar (9-4) were ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the latest Western C standings. The two teams meet again next week.

Jay had opened a 10-point lead early in the third thanks to some solid defense and rebounding. Heather Johnson hit a 3-pointer and Sara Fetterhoff had a pair of baskets in a run that turned a 27-22 halftime lead into a 34-24 advantage.

Just when Telstar seemed to wear down, the Rebels, got a second wind.

Gould had a pair of baskets and Kimball hit a jumper to get Telstar within two after three quarters.

In the fourth, Telstar, which used just its five starters in the second half, took the lead for the last time with 3:36 remaining on a Kimball jumper. DeMillo quickly changed momentum, however, with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:09 left.

“That DeMillo shot was huge,” said Bean. “From back here, it looked like she was five feet behind the line with a defender on her. I was thinking if we got one more shot, we’d be in command.”