Jocelyn Wyatt has her favorite spot on the court. Top-ranked Lincoln is glad she does

It doesn’t matter if it is on a concrete or hardwood, ninth grader Jocelyn Wyatt knows her favorite spot to shoot.

It is in the deep left corner.

And Wyatt found it just in time to rescue the No. 1 Lincoln Abes in the regional round of the Class 3A girls tournament.

Wyatt sank the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, lifting the Abes to a 49-48 victory Saturday over fourth-ranked Bethel at Puyallup High School.

Her memorable shot brought Lincoln all the way back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

It also gave the Abes (24-1) a bye to the 3A quarterfinals Thursday in the Tacoma Dome. Bethel (21-4) will play Bellevue in a loser-out game Wednesday.

It doesn’t seem to matter what the circumstance is, Abes coach Jamila Jones continues to see his team dig deep for victories. This might have been the biggest magic act of all.

“I believe this is a championship-caliber team,” Jones said. “That might put a lot of pressure on them, but I think they are good with that.”

In the fourth encounter between these two 3A Pierce County League rivals, Bethel was certainly up to finally get a win against the Abes.

The Braves went up, 43-32 on Tianna Brown’s 3-pointer with 7:16 remaining.

Wyatt’s shot had been feeling good all game. In the times she came in off the bench, she contributed.

And her corner 3-pointer cut it to 46-44 at the 2:11 mark.

“My family is a bunch of shooters,” said Wyatt, whose father, Gary, played for Lincoln. “My dad is always like, ‘Get in the gym, get in extra practice.’ I make sure and work on my mechanics to make sure I do everything right.”

Bethel’s lead grew to 48-44 on Emma Johnson’s short jump shot with 1:05 to go.

And when Sharayah Johnson missed two free throws on the other end for Lincoln, things looked bleak with less than a minute remaining.

But Bethel’s Tiarra Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one, leading to Kondalia Montgomery’s basket on the other end for the Abes, slicing it to 48-46 with 29 seconds remaining.

Next up on the free throw line — Johnson. She, too, missed, with 27.3 seconds remaining, giving the Abes on final possession to win it.

And the ball rotated right to Wyatt in the left corner. She let it rip.

“I was so nervous,” Wyatt said. “But from the work I put in, I deserved that. I was ready for it.”

It swished, sending the Abes into a cheering frenzy. It was their only lead of the game.

And it sunk the hearts of the Braves.

“We were expecting Faith (Brantley) to shoot it,” Tiarra Brown said. “But (Wyatt) had her momentum going. We had to know where she was at, and did not.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Jocelyn Wyatt has her favorite spot on the court. Top-ranked Lincoln is glad she does."