Drury's Defense Shines in Win over Monument
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- One point.That's how many points the Drury girls' basketball team allowed Monument Mountain to score in the third quarter of Tuesday night's 39-18 win at Bucky Bullett Gymnasium.
The Blue Devils' defense was steady throughout the game, only allowing eight points through the first three quarters of play. But it was their shut-down effort in the third quarter that propelled John Franzoni's club to its fourth straight victory to start the season. Drury outscored Monument 14-1 in the third quarter, turning a 16-7 halftime lead into a 24-point cushion heading into the fourth.
"I'm very proud of our team defensive effort against a solid Monument team," Franzoni said. "Our offense was a bit stagnant at times, but the forced turnovers led to transition points that got our offense going in the third quarter."
The Spartans (0-4) hung around in the first half by playing some solid defense of its own, but 27 turnovers eventually caught up with the visitors. After leading just 5-3 after the first quarter, the Blue Devils started pulling away by going on an 11-4 run in the second frame. Junior forward Shannon Garvey then got the hosts going with a solid third quarter, scoring seven of her game-high 14 points over that stretch. She also nabbed seven rebounds for Drury, which also got solid games out of classmates Danielle Racette and Ali Tatro. Racette scored 10 points, with five rebounds and four assists, while Tatro chipped in seven points and nine boards.
"Shannon had a solid overall game, while Danielle and Ali were instrumental in the defensive effort with six steals each," Franzoni said. "It was just tremendous team defense to hold Monument to eight points through the first three quarters of the game."
Hannah Rolf was the leading scorer for the Spartans with five points. The Devils next play at Wahconah at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.