The Lady ’Canes had the ball with five seconds left in overtime but couldn’t’ get a shot off in time and they dropped a nonsection home game to Class AAAA Gateway.

“This is probably the best game we’ve played all year long,” first-year New Castle coach Scott Dibble said. “We couldn’t be more proud of them.

“They played with a lot of heart and passion. It was a hard-fought game. They were big and deep. I’ve got nothing to complain about. That’s a good team we played.”

The Lady ’Canes’ Darrian Johnson forced the extra session when she buried two foul shots with eight-tenths of a second left in regulation, knotting the count at 32.

“Those were big free throws she hit,” Dibble said.

Johnson and Kelsey Scott netted 11 points each for New Castle (3-4).

Morgan Hainsey recorded 11 points to lead the Lady Gators (4-1).