Down 10 points with 5:36 left to play, the Waterville girls basketball team rallied all the way back to force Little Falls to overtime.
But the visiting Mounties, who had lost twice to the Indians this season, denied them a third time and knocked off the higher Class C seed 46-43. Little Falls moves on to play Cooperstown this week.
Waterville put together 13 wins this season, including the 11th that gave Coach Larry Stockwell his milestone 500th career win. Two others included beating Little falls 55-37 and 57-53.
But in the WCS gym Friday night, the Little Falls fans turned it into a home atmosphere for their girls, as Waterville fans had to choose to stay home to see the girls or travel to Cooperstown to watch the boys play. They cheered as their team took the first lead, 2-0, in a first quarter that had two ties.
Paige Cornish’s 3-pointer put the Indians on the board. Freshman Natalee Collins scored 6 points in the opening quarter as the Indians led 13-9.
Laney Hinman hit a quick layup in the second quarter, followed by shots from Janelle Cleary and Collins as the Indians expanded their lead to 19-11. Little Falls, though, kept hustling, beating the Indians to loose balls and rebounds at both ends and pulled to within 19-17 a couple of minutes…