Drury Finds Way to Dispatch Pesky Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It wasn't the prettiest game, but tough road contests inside your division don't always have to be, as long as you end up the winner.The Drury girls' basketball team went up on Taconic, lost its 9-point lead but somehow found a way to win 42-36 on the road on Thursday night. It wasn't the Blue Devils' best effort of the season, but they found a way to get the job done late in the game. With the victory, Drury earned it's first league win of the season and improved its overall mark to an impressive 8-2 at the halfway point of the regular season.
After a solid second quarter in which they held the Braves (3-5) to just four points, the Blue Devils seemed to be control of the game with a 19-12 lead coming out of halftime. The visitors stretched that lead to as many as nine points until Taconic made a furious comeback in the final 12 minutes of play. The Braves' Kristy Geary single handedly kept her team in the game, scoring a game-high 17 points along with three 3-pointers. One of her triples, a remarkable long bomb just inside the half-court line right before the third-quarter buzzer, cut Drury's lead to just 29-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Taconic would eventually only trail 37-36 with about two minutes left in the game, when Blue Devils head coach John Franzoni called a timeout. After play resumed, Drury grabbed the game by its neck and reeled off the final five points of the contest to earn the win. Blue Devils' guard Danielle Racette, who led the visitors with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, made a nice pass to Cassie Lincoln under the hoop off a set play. Lincoln was fouled and made one of the two ensuing free throws.
The Braves' turned it over on their next possession, allowing Lincoln to find a wide-open Morgan Lamarre for a layup off an inbounds play. Finally, Racette iced the game by banking in a foul-line runner in the lane to push the lead to six points.
"There are peaks and valleys in every season and tonight our team found a way to win a game when we most certainly were not playing our best basketball," Franzoni said. "Taconic outhustled our team in the second half to close the gap to one point with about two minutes left in the game but after a timeout, our girls came out and had our three best offensive possessions of the evening. We'll need a good weekend of practice in order to be prepared to play a very good Lee team on Tuesday night on the road."
Lincoln had a solid overall game for Drury, scoring six points, the Blue Devils' only three of the night, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. On a night where the whole Drury offense struggled to make it shots, Lamarre's outside shooting was key. She made four baskets overall, finishing with eight points, one board and one assist.
Lincoln had a solid overall game for Drury, scoring six points, the Blue Devils' only three of the night, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. On a night where the whole Drury offense struggled to make it shots, Lamarre's outside shooting was key. She made four baskets overall, finishing with eight points, one board and one assist.
The Blue Devils face their toughest opponent of the season in their next game. Lee is the defending Division 3 state champion and is currently sporting a perfect 7-0 record. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.