The Simley girls' basketball team was already riding high heading into its Classic Suburban Conference tilt with 2011 Class 3A state runner-up Hill-Murray last week. The youthful, overachieving Spartans owned a 14-1 record, but they reached that record by having to dig themselves out of a few deep holes during that stretch.

Friday was more of the same. Simley fell behind 23-9 but clawed back to tie the score 53-53 with six seconds to play. On the Pioneers' inbounds lob pass, the Spartans stole the ball and called a quick timeout at half court. Left unmarked, seventh-grader Aeja Lockett touched the ball next and threw up a prayer from the key.

Swish. Game over. Confidence level higher than the moon.

"This is definitely the best-case scenario we could have figured out," Simley coach Tim Peper said. "You just never know how these young kids are going to compete with teams like Hill-Murray or [conference opponent] Richfield. We knew we had a chance to be this good ... we just weren't sure if all the pieces were going to step up."

In addition to Lockett, Peper regularly plays an eighth-grader, two sophomores, two juniors and a senior.

"You know you have talent, but that worries a coach," Peper said with a laugh. "Some of these kids made a big jump. But they're special kids, and they're having a special season. We hope we've hit our stride."