New London — Jada Lucas took the original shot and saw the clock. New London High School coach Holly Misto saw the clock, too, as it crept toward zero, with overtime nearly imminent in the Whalers' Class LL girls' basketball state quarterfinal against defending champion Stamford.

"I kept saying, 'Where's the buzzer? Where's the buzzer? Where's the buzzer?'" Misto said.

New London's Rosie Nicholson beat the buzzer. That's what.

Nicholson, perhaps the New London player which if you asked any of her teammates would be identified as the Whaler who never, never, never gives up, scored an unlikely basket on an offensive rebound which dropped through the hoop as time expired Thursday night.

That gave third-seeded New London a jubilant 58-56 victory over No. 11 Stamford and a berth in next Monday's Class LL semifinal round against No. 2 Enfield (site and time to be determined). New London was the Class L runner-up last season before moving up a division.

The rebound off Lucas' 3-point field goal attempt came to Nicholson on the right side. She stood there with it for a heartbeat, then two, as three towering Stamford players stood over her, an immovable fortress. Then Nicholson leapt. As high as she could.

The New London fans, including the boys' basketball team — which had its own game moved from Thursday night to Friday so as not to conflict with the girls — stormed the court. Lucas, a senior, wept tears of joy while Misto took a minute to rest on one knee next to the Whalers' bench.

"There was literally three trees right in front of her; that's what coach called them, trees," said New London senior India Pagan who finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

"I just ran through the play coach told us to play," said Nicholson, a junior, who had 10 points , seven rebounds, five assists and six steals. "It was kind of tough (to get the shot off), but when you dig down deep and you want to accomplish something ... it felt great."

The game was electric from start to finish. Lucas hit a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter, giving New London (24-2) a 16-15 lead and the teams were tied 27-27 at halftime. Pagan had 14 points in the first half, including the last two on an assist by Nicholson with 13 seconds left.

New London led 44-43 after three quarters, getting six points in the third and 10 overall in the second half from Xaryia Melendez.

The Whalers built a five-point lead on a steal and a pull-up jump shot by Nicholson with 6 minutes, 50 seconds remaining, but Stamford came back to take the lead on a shot by Marthe Guirand and a key four-point play by Camille Martinez. That gave the Black Knights a 49-48 edge.

The lead changed six more times. Spencer Roman gave New London a 54-53 advantage with a pair of free throws at the 1:38 mark. Megan Landsiedel tied it for Stamford at 54 with a free throw and Nicholson missed two free throws with 1:09 remaining to leave the game deadlocked.

Stamford's Alexa Kellner (team-high 20 points) made two free throws for a 56-54 lead with 48.9 seconds remaining and Lucas tied it with a pair of free throws for New London with 39.8 on the clock. Stamford turned the ball over 30 seconds later giving the Whalers the final chance.

Melendez had 10 points and nine rebounds for New London and Lucas added 10 points.

Nicholson, a dervish on the court, especially when it comes to defense, oftentimes makes an error in a game only to make up for it before Misto can get someone to the scorer's table to replace her.

"Rosie gives you 150 percent from the minute she steps on the floor. I never have to worry about her; Rosie's going to hustle," Misto said.

"I just keep going," Nicholson said. "If I just keep going, I can do something to help the team or get it back if I made a mistake. I was taught to keep all my emotions inside. I take those home. I keep the positive energy when I go on the court. ... Without my teammates, I wouldn't be able to push through the big plays. I couldn't have done it without the fan section and I couldn't have done it without my teammates."

v.fulkerson@theday.com