By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

With an outright district championship already wrapped up, Reserve Christian didn’t have much to play for on Monday night at Phoenix.

No matter. The Eagles proved they could come though in the clutch for one last time this regular season, besting Phoenix 34-33 to nail down an undefeated season in District 10-C.

“I’m proud of our girls,” said Reserve coach Richard Englander. “They showed their true character by coming in and pulling out a close one.”

Reserve’s Jermani Thompson hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to put her team up by one. Phoenix had one last shot with four seconds to go, but Reserve’s defense dug in to preserve the win.

“We secured the ball and made our free throws in the fourth quarter, and that enabled us to keep the lead,” said Englander of the game’s late stages.

Reserve (12-13, 6-0) led 19-10 at halftime, but Phoenix rallied to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles wouldn’t allow Phoenix (4-14, 1-5) to get over the hump, though, and never trailed in the second half.

“We were able to stay ahead of them by one or two in the later stages,” said Englander.  

Daysha Blount led the Eagles with 11 points. Thompson scored eight.

Englander said that after a lopsided win over Grand Isle last week, it was good to see his team come away with a win in a close game.

“It was a great tune up for us before the playoffs,” he said. “It was real good to see us finish a close one off.”

Now, RCS awaits its first round postseason opponent.

Reserve will play its bi-district playoff matchup by Friday night. Its seeding was not known at presstime, but the Eagles entered the weekend ranked 20th in power points within Class C.