Staff photo / Dan Hiner The Western Reserve girls basketball team celebrates with Chloeigh Endsley, far left, after she made the game-winning shot at the buzzer vs. Mineral Ridge on Thursday at Western Reserve High School.

BERLIN CENTER — The pass went to Chloeigh Endsley, who turned and put up a hook shot from the center of the paint. The ball hit the backboard and bounced in with no time on the clock.

The Western Reserve girls basketball team flooded the court and jumped on Endsley as the Blue Devils celebrated a 53-51 win over Mineral Ridge at the buzzer Thursday night.

“In the biggest moment, with half a second to go, we decided to go to her with her size, and she did a good job of squaring her shoulders and putting it off the window,” Western Reserve coach Steve Miller said. “Finally got one to bank in tonight.”

Mineral Ridge head coach Matt Cluse argued that Endsley didn’t get the shot off before the buzzer.

“Who can catch a ball, land and shoot in 0.4 seconds? It’s impossible,” Cluse said after the game.

When asked, Miller said there were times when he was in Cluse’s shoes and thought a shot didn’t get off.

“If he was on my bench, he thought it was good. He’s on the Mineral Ridge bench, so he thinks it didn’t,” Miller said. “Completely honest, I thought there was 0.7 seconds. If we want to go back to check the film when the dead ball was initially called, they should have put 0.7 on the clock. But hey, that’s what adds to the next game.”

The close game was fitting given the success both teams had coming into Thursday. Both squads were unbeaten at 7-0. The Blue Devils entered 6-0 in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier.

Western Reserve (8-0, 7-0 MVAC Scarlet) took a 6-0 lead to start the game thanks to its defense. The Blue Devils kept the Rams off the board for the first 3:21 of the game.

The Devils went through a scoreless stretch of their own, but they finished the first quarter on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 13-5.

However, the Rams (7-1, 5-1) slowly began to claw their way back into the game. They slowly started sinking shots and tied the game at 21 with just over two minutes to play in the half.

But the Blue Devils took a 27-24 lead into the locker room.

“Both of us have had schedules, thus far, where we put teams away early,” Miller said. “Neither team has been in one of these games yet, and it showed at times tonight. Both of us made each other look ugly at times. And I told the girls it’s probably going to be defense on one side or the other, you’re probably going to have to make adjustments on the fly, you’re gonna have to play basketball.”

And Mineral Ridge made those adjustments coming out of the break.

A layup by Kylee Molnar off a steal gave the Rams their first lead, 34-33, with 4:23 to play in the third. And the offense continued for the Rams, who outscored Reserve 17-12 in the third to take a 41-36 lead into the fourth.

Shots were not necessarily falling for the Blue Devils to start the fourth, but free throws and defense kept them in the game through the first four minutes of the frame. They were 3-of-4 from the line and cut the deficit to 46-45.

The Blue Devils’ free-throw shooting continued in the fourth. They only made four baskets, but they were 9-of-11 from the line.

For the game, Western Reserve was 21-of-27 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Rams were 3-of-5.

“It’s easy to see that if officiating’s going to give you every foul call, we get none, I’m sorry. There’s not much you can do when you go to a hostile environment and the officials are with the hostile environment, even the timer’s with the hostile environment,” Cluse said. “Come on, it’s girls basketball. Let’s be fair here.”

After trips to the free-throw line by both teams, the score was tied at 51 with a minute to play.

Mineral Ridge had possession with 8.8 seconds left. But the ball sailed out of bounds when the Rams tried to get it in.

That set the stage for Endsley’s game-winning shot.

Conaway led the Rams with 12 points. Tomlyn Sandy scored nine points, and Sullivan Sandy finished with eight.

Ramsey led all scorers with 23 points, while Baylie Sinn chipped in 11 and Quincy Miller ended the night with 10.

“They have a great player in Sullivan Sandy, and we got two great guards in Miller and Ramsey,” Steve Miller said. “And I thought Ramsey stepped up and was a complete dog all day long. She got her hands on so many things, and every time it seemed like we needed a play or make a run, she stepped up. Tonight, I thought she was the best player on the floor.”

The two teams will have to wait over a month to see each other again. The Blue Devils will travel to Weathersfield on Jan. 26 for the rematch.

“Boy, is this going to be a good one to see the next time we see them,” Steve Miller said. “When we go to their place, I’m sure it’s going to be a nice ticket.”