McCarthy's Late Surge Lifts Drury Over Monument
 Meagan McCarthy's blazing performance in the fourth quarter gave the Blue Devils a one-point win over Monument. More photos here. |
On Monday night, Drury got one back, albeit barely.
Blue Devils' forward Meagan McCarthy caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring six of her eight points in the frame to turn a four-point deficit into a five-point lead with under a minute to play in the game.
Monument rallied back, however, thanks to a coast-to-coast layup by Laura Ann Dinan and by forcing two Drury turnovers in the final seconds of the game. Down by just one point, the Spartans had three shots at the basket in the chaotic final moments and nearly got another before Monument center Sophie Randolf was whistled for a foul under the basket while going up for an offensive rebound as time expired.
None of the shots fell through the hoop, however, and the Devils ran off the court with a 28-27 win at Bucky Bullett Gymnasium.
The end of the game was a mess and the offense at times couldn't buy a basket but for Drury head coach John Franzoni, the end result was certainly a satisfying one considering the quality of opponent his team was up against.
"It's a typical Monument-Drury game," Franzoni said. "I have all the respect in the world for Coach [Tom] Kinne. We told our kids that we watched them play against Mount Greylock in the Coaches vs. Cancer game. They were down by 14 points in the third quarter and came back and won. We knew they weren't going anywhere because they were down by a couple of baskets. They're a good, tenacious, well-coached team.
"We just have to finish games a little tougher. We had several great possessions in a row, but then we didn't have very good possessions in the last minute. We have to finish stronger than that."
The Blue Devils, who improve to 9-3 with the win, set themselves up for victory by reeling off the first eight points of the fourth quarter. Down 20-16 after the third, senior forward Kelsey Ouimet (8 points, 7 rebounds) sank two free throws to start the fourth, followed by Danielle Racette's spinning left-handed layup, which tied the game at 20 points apiece. McCarthy then took control of the game by taking Randolf off of the dribble. She first hit a runner from the left baseline and then a driving layup to give the hosts a four-point lead with three minutes left in the game.
"I got the ball and went strong, and it kept working for us," McCarthy said. "We ran a play to the left side. I just ball faked and went by her every time, so we just kept running it."
The Spartans (6-3) answered right back on a lay-in from Sarah Mills, but Drury guard Cassie Lincoln, who had yet to hit a shot all game, stepped up and buried a jump shot from the left wing to push the lead back to four points with just a minute and a half to go in the game. It was a tough night for Lincoln, who had to leave the game in the first quarter after taking an elbow to the eye, but she stepped up and hit a big shot when her team needed it the most.
After Randolf hit one of two free throws at the other end, McCarthy scored again, this time finishing off a runner in the lane to push her team's lead to 28-23.
"At halftime, we talked about how they were doing a good job of helping in the post against Kelsey, so we talked to Meagan about being more active," Franzoni said. "It didn't happen right away, but it happened in the fourth quarter, when she really stepped in and played with confidence. You need your seniors to step up, and tonight our seniors really gave us a big lift in the fourth quarter."
In a game where neither team made it into the 30s, McCarthy's eight points in the second half definitely loomed large. Guarding McCarthy was a difficult task for Randolf, who had her beat in size but couldn't keep up with her quickness. It was the only blemish on a very solid night for Randolf, who filled in admirably for Monument captain Keegan Baldwin, who sat out the second straight game with a knee injury she suffered in practice recently. Randolf played big down low, scoring six points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.
"They did a good defensive job on Mills, and we did a good defensive job on Racette," Kinne said. "They kind of neutralized each other. Sophie played well tonight, but she just got beat off the dribble three times in a row. That was the difference."
"We wanted to run our spread play," Franzoni said of his team's offensive strategy in the fourth quarter. "Monument is very good defensive team, and they were doing a good job of helping. We felt if we spread the floor out a little bit, we could have some chances to score and drive. Meagan hit that first drive and then we called the play to go to her side. She hit two more drives from that side and Cassie hit another big shot for us as well."
Although they were down by five points with less than a minute to play, the Spartans had no intentions of going away quietly. Dinan, who hustled her way to a game-high 10 points to go along with an impressive 12 rebounds, quickly answered by going coast to coast for a layup. The hosts then turned the ball over on their next possession, allowing Randolf to cut the lead to just one point when she sank two free throws after she was fouled going up for a shot off of an offensive rebound. Mills then stole the ball from Lincoln at half court, and Monument nearly stole the game away at the end before time expired.
"They made a few good shots at the end, and we didn't," Kinne said. "I give them credit. It's two tough teams playing against each other, and Coach Franzoni did a good job with his kids."
The Blue Devils held a slim 10-9 advantage at halftime, only to see the visitors come back and outscore them 11-6 in the third quarter. The Spartans scored the last seven points of the quarter, including the final four from Dinan, who's quickness and ball-handling skills gave Drury fits on both ends of the court.
"She gets a lot of rebounds for a guard," Kinne said. "She had a little trouble with the ball, trying to do a little too much, but in my opinion, she's the best athlete at Monument Mountain. That's the way I've always felt."
Although she was held to only four points, Racette led the team in both rebounding (8) and assists (5). It was also a nice bounce-back game for both Ouimet and McCarthy, who were both held scoreless in the Devils' 46-24 loss to Wahconah on Friday night. They had a much better outing on Monday, as the two combined for 16 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks by McCarthy, both of which came in the second half.
"We knew we had to win this game because we haven't beaten them in such a long time," McCarthy said. "Playing the last game was really frustrating because we beat Wahconah by a lot the first time, so we wanted to make sure we came out strong in this game. It's a really big week for us because we want to make sure we make it to the tournament. We only need one more win, so we're going to keep our heads up and keep going."
Drury gets its chance for that 10th win on Thursday night, when they play at rival Hoosac Valley at 7:30 p.m.