Drury Does Enough to Defeat Lenox

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Drury girls' basketball team held off a determined Lenox squad on Monday night, using some clutch free-throw shooting from senior point guard Danielle Racette to earn a 50-41 win at Bucky Bullett Gymnasium. 

Racette went 9 of 11 from the foul line in the final two minutes of the game to keep the Millionaires at bay. The Blue Devils' captain ended up scoring 12 of her 14 points from the charity stripe while also contributing seven steals, four assists and four rebounds. Fellow senior Shannon Garvey was hot from the start for Drury, scoring 12 of her 14 points in the first half. Junior forward Emily Moulton also had a strong game with 12 points and a team-high 11 boards. 

"This was a very physical, tournament-level basketball game," Blue Devils head coach John Franzoni said. "Lenox made a good second-half run by playing a full-court zone trap defense, but Danielle took the game over in the fourth quarter by handling the pressure and making clutch free throws. She played a tremendous game on both ends of the court." 

After taking a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, Drury (10-3) went on a big run in the second quarter to earn a 26-14 lead at halftime. The Millionaires (8-6), led by the Hayden Zinchuk's game-high 18 points, rallied back in third quarter, however, holding the hosts to just five points in the frame to pull within seven heading into the fourth. The Blue Devils regained their rhythm on the offensive end in the fourth quarter, however, and clinched the win thanks to Racette's smooth free-throw shooting.

"The key to the game was our depth," Franzoni said. "We received solid contributions from Kasha Wissman, Mackenzie Bona, Morgan Lamarre, Amber Iacuessa, and Olivia Carlson off the bench. All 10 players had key roles in the second-quarter run that extended the lead. Wissman and Iacuessa had clutch fourth-quarter baskets to extend the lead from five points back to nine points."

Drury, which has now won three straight games since losing to Wahconah on January 19, gets a rematch with the Warriors on the road on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

JV Game: The Drury girls' junior varsity team earned a 36-13 win over Lenox in the earlier game on Monday night. Katie Toomey led the way with an eight-point, seven-effort for the Blue Devils, while Jill Tietgens and Molly Moulton each chipped in with seven points apiece. Hannah Rivard and Heather Morris also had six points for Drury, which received a strong defensive effort by the entire team. 

Alexa Nejaime led the way for the Millionaires with six points.