The lanky forward decided to dribble right. She split the Wykon defense and sank a short bank shot with about two seconds left as the Mountaineers edged visiting West Iron 40-38 on Tuesday at Iron Mountain High School.

Runsat, who scored a team-best 19 points, admitted she didn’t feel as cool as she looked.

“Um, definitely not,” Runsat said. “I do know what I have to do. I know I have to score and draw fouls. I do get nervous, but I try to be calm for our team.”

“Her experience and her court sense out on the gym floor is fantastic,” Iron Mountain coach Karen Ellis said. “When we need that last bucket, she’s helped us out quite a few times and I know I can count on her.”

Iron Mountain varsity hoopster Annslee Runsat (22) looks down court before starting her game-winning drive to the basket in overtime against visiting West Iron County on Tuesday night. Runsat not only hit the winning bucket but also led her team with 19 points.

Runsat’s hoop put an end to a tightly played contest that was at times ragged with turnovers and fouls, but always competitive and hard fought. The Mountaineers (1-2) led much of the way, but the Wykons (1-2) always stayed close. They were able to do that because of sophomore guard Danica Shamion, who scored a game-high 21 points. Shamion is the lone player on the West Iron squad that has significant varsity experience.

“Our team is kind of built around Danica,” her father said. “When she scores, we do well. But we need the other kids to fill in. We have a couple of other kids that are capable of scoring in spurts, but we just couldn’t them going tonight and those wide open shots just didn’t fall for us.”

Iron Mountain held a 31-27 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Shamion fed Calli Pellizzer for a layup and then scored off a drive herself to tie the score with just under seven minutes to play. West Iron sophomore Brynlee Nodurft sank a layup off another assist by Shamion to put her team us 36-34 with 2:49 remaining. That score stuck until Runsat scored on a layup with 45 seconds left in regulation to forge the tie. Shamion had a last-second look at a winning 3-pointer but the shot rimmed out.

Shamion put the Wykons up with a driving bank shot 37 seconds into overtime. Iron Mountain’s Ellison Powell hit two free throws to tie the game with 2:24 left and the game remained tied at 38-all until Runsat won it late.

“This was so huge for our team morale,” Ellis said. “I think it was a huge team-building experience, and I think going forward you’re going to see a lot better basketball from Iron Mountain.”

West Iron County’s Danica Shamion (24) tries to drive by Iron Mountain defender Emma Ellis (10) in Tuesday’s clash on the Mountainers’ home floor.

Jerry DeRoche may be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 247, or jderoche@ironmountaindailynews.com.