By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32
One bounce, one spin, grip the ball and shoot.
Hailey Jackson found herself in a one-of-a-kind situation on April 1. Three free throws to tie the game and force overtime, or fall short in the national championship.
At the NJCAA Division 1 Women’s National Championship game at Casper, Wyo., Hutchinson Community College trailed the Northwest Florida State Raiders by three points with 2.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. While the Blue Dragons had possession and would inbound the ball from the sideline, time was limited along with the stressful anticipation of winning a national championship. As screens were being set and players were cutting to get open, Jackson found the ball in her hands with little time and no other option than to take a shot.
“I knew the clock was really low,” said Jackson, now a sophomore. “I don’t even think I fully caught it all the way before I threw it up.”
With little time to react, Jackson flung a shot from beyond the 3-point line, hoping for a made basket. While the ball made contact with the backboard, the shot was no good. However, Jackson drew a foul from a Raider defender. This game-changing call sent Jackson to the free-throw line giving her the chance to help the Blue Dragons to their first national championship win.
“There were a lot of different emotions,” Blue Dragons coach John Ontjes said. “At that point, I knew our kids felt like maybe the game was over, but once Hailey got fouled, then we felt like we had a chance to get the game into overtime.”
While lining up for the first of three free throws, the only sounds you could hear in the gym were the ball bouncing, sighs of anticipation, and then quiet.
Shots one and two swished with ease. The third shot wobbled around the rim before falling in.
“When I got up there, it was just like trying to find ways to clear my head,” Jackson said. “It’s a free throw, that’s what we practice for, stuff like that. (I) just had to go up there and knock them down, and that’s what happened.”
With Jackson making all three free throws, tying the game at 69, the game went into overtime, where the Blue Dragons would go on a run and win 88-80.
“You probably wouldn’t believe it, but I was really calm,” former Blue Dragon forward Monae Duffy said. “I felt bad that I fouled out, but I was really calm. I knew that something was going to happen, but didn’t know how. I had a lot of faith in the people that we had out there, so I knew that (the championship) was going to be ours.
Despite being a freshman then, Jackson took her skills and the confidence her teammates had in her to help bring the win a little closer.
“If there was somebody to be on the line in that particular situation, I couldn’t ask for anybody else to be on the line,” Duffy said. “Honestly, it was crazy, but that’s how it was supposed to be. I know that she’s just the type of player that when you need her to execute something, that’s the person that you call.”
Not only did Jackson’s teammates have confidence in her skill and ability, but also her high school coach.
Josh Berry, Jackson’s high school basketball coach at Charles Page High School in Tulsa, Okla., was one of the people who helped build confidence in Jackson and continues to support her in all aspects of life.
“He really helped me figure out what type of player I could become,” Jackson said. “He helped build my confidence on and off the court.”
Some coaches don’t always have the best relationship with their players, but with Berry and Jackson, it is like family.
“We had more of a coach-player in a father-daughter type of relationship,” Berry said. “I was just excited for her as a player and as a person to finally get through all those hills, and all the hours she put in pay off.”
It was evident from the beginning of Jackson’s career that she had a high basketball IQ not only from her main position as a forward but throughout any position on the floor.
“The special thing about Hailey as a player is that she can do or play any position on the court if she wants to,” Berry said. “She can play a point guard position all the way to the five position. And not only played offensively but can also guard defensively. And I think that a lot of recruits and people are just now kind of realizing that and seeing what I’ve always known since the first day I watched her.”
With all the challenges Jackson has faced leading up to her sophomore year, she now has the confidence and leadership to be what the Blue Dragons need her to be this season.
“I think that (game) really helped Hailey develop into the leader that she’s trying to be for us this year,” Ontjes said. “She came through in such a big moment. (The team) just continued to make the plays that we needed to make and when we got it into overtime, it somehow came out in our favor.”
The Blue Dragons experienced a range of emotions, including doubt about the result, hope after Jackson made her free throws to tie the game, and faith and confidence in their ability to win the title.
“I really felt confident because the kids had proved all year long that they had something special about them,” Ontjes said. “We knew it was going to be a tough task. They’re (Northwest Florida State) the defending national champions there with a group of kids that were extremely talented. But, our kids came in clutch and never gave up. I had a sense that our kids felt like we were going to lose the game, but they quickly rebounded from that feeling to complete the national championship.”
Not only will fans remember the national championship game but Jackson will relive that moment in her mind, whether it is playing basketball, talking about basketball, or the phrase ‘Blue Dragons national championship’.
“When I picked my phone up after the game, I looked at all the texts,” Jackson said. “My brother’s (text) had been my favorite because he was like, ‘I was crying, and I almost cut it off, but something told me to keep it on.’ And I was like, oh, yeah.”
This one moment for Jackson didn’t only make Hutchinson Community College history but changed her life as an athlete and person.
“Everybody who came from Hutch to go up there, they feel like that was them,” Jackson said. “It is because we’re all repping the same. We all have Hutch on. We’re all part of Hutchinson Community College.”
