APEX — Middle Creek girls’ basketball coach Wes Petty said junior varsity coach Jared Savina does not hate him, although there could be reason to. Petty picked eight underclassmen, including seven freshmen, for his Lady Mustangs squad this winter.

“I definitely robbed away some very talented young kids,” Petty said. “We have seven freshmen that have come in at a good time. But these seven freshmen earned the right to be here. They’re very talented. They’re extremely coachable. They really, really want to learn and improve and get better.”

Petty had plenty of blanks to fill in after six seniors, including two all-conference performers, graduated last spring. The 2006-07 Lady Mustangs made the school’s first-ever playoff appearance last winter.

“A lot of people didn’t expect a lot out of us this year,” Petty said. “But all these kids that are here are talented and they’re willing to work. … We’re not backing down from anybody.”

Middle Creek (3-4) certainly didn’t back down on Friday night in a 77-75 double overtime win over visiting Sanderson (6-4). It helps that there are some talented and experienced upperclassmen to lead the way.

Junior forward Emily Booker scored 23 points; 10 of them came after regulation, including a last-second shot to force the second overtime. Senior guard Sarah Cox had 20 points.

“Emily Booker has been our go-to player down low,” Petty said. “She’s worked extremely hard. She had a tremendous offseason. She really dedicated herself to getting better, getting stronger and stepping up and being a leader of this team.

“Sarah Cox is the heart of this team. She’s been a part of this team for four years. She might not be that tall, but she’s going to play hard every play. … She’s a tremendous energizer for these kids.”

Leadership is a big part of Cox’s role for the Lady Mustangs this winter. She said having a lot of younger teammates around makes it seem very natural.

“We just try to tell them to give everything that they have all the time, because that’s what won us the game tonight,” she said. “We played with heart and we wanted it more than the other team. That’s why we came out on top.”

Cox and Booker found themselves sharing the floor often with two and sometimes three freshmen at a time — even during the overtime periods. Brittany Murdock and Lesley Woods, both freshmen, scored in overtime for the Lady Mustangs.

“Sometimes it’s challenging but it’s definitely rewarding because you get to express your knowledge of the game with them,” Booker said of playing with so many underclassmen. “They have responded really well and they are up to the challenge. They are always ready to go and ready to work really hard because they know they have something to prove, and it’s very nice.”

Petty said the close win over a tough nonconference opponent is just what his team needed to build confidence as they begin Tri-Eight Conference play this week.

“It’s a different world with all these freshmen,” he said. “Instead of starting over, we think of it as a continuation of what we started last year. … We think we’ve got a group here that’s ready to continue the tradition.”