ESPN Top 10 Play for Dramatic Girls Basketball Victory at Buzzer

Groton's girls varsity basketball team clinched a win in dramatic fashion on Saturday, February 27, seizing a one-point victory over longtime rival St. Mark’s with a floating long shot that entered the hoop just as the buzzer sounded. ESPN Sports Center named the play #7 of its Top Ten Plays of the Week.

In the Sport Center video, scroll to 1:24 to see Fourth Former (sophomore) Alyna Baharozian's beauty.

The team was down by one point as Alyna heard her teammates counting the final seconds: Seven, six, five, four, three . . .

Instinct and skill took over as Alyna launched the ball. “I knew that there was only one second left because my teammates on the bench were counting down, and I had to get the shot off, so I took a high floater from the baseline," said the point guard. "I thought that it was going in as a ran past the baseline, but it was still so shocking and exciting when the ball went through the hoop.”

The crowd erupted as the girls varsity basketball team bested St. Mark’s School, which has been a Groton School rival since the football teams faced off 130 years ago, long before there were girls or a girls basketball team at the school.

At the half, St. Mark's was leading by seven points, and with three minutes left had maintained that seven-point lead. But Groton went on a rampage, landing the team within a single point with eighteen seconds left. When a St. Mark’s turnover gave Groton the ball, Alyna took the pass and sprinted toward the basket, two defenders at the chase.

"Her momentum took her past the backboard," said Coach Joe Crail, "but she somehow twisted her body in midair and got a floater off at the buzzer."

Exhilaration ripped through the team as the 47–46 win became real. “As soon as the buzzer sounded, I ran up to my teammates and we all just started jumping and screaming,” said Alyna. “Beating St. Mark’s is always a main goal of the season and super exciting. The fact that we hadn’t beaten them in six years made the last-second win even more thrilling for our team.

“It was a great way to end the season!"

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