Mason's Late Bucket Lifts Wahconah
DALTON, Mass. – The Monson girls basketball team’s front line was a challenge to Wahconah throughout their Thursday meeting.
But Wahconah’s “big” came up big in the pivotal moment of the game.
Senior Olivia Mason put back an offensive rebound with 14 seconds on the clock to give Wahconah a 39-38 lead, and it went on to a 40-38 win and a season sweep of the Mustangs.
“It definitely took a little bit of time to get used to their size, but once we started using ball fakes to our advantage, we got them in foul trouble, and that really helped us a lot,” Mason said of the battle in the paint.
She finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Madison McCarthy led Wahconah in both categories with 16 points and 12 boards.
They needed all those points and rebounds to answer Monson’s Olivia Chrzan, who scored a game-high 25, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a couple of shots.
Wahconah outscored Monson, 16-2, in the second quarter to take a 24-10 lead into half-time, but the Mustangs struck back in the third, drawing within three and took a one-point lead with just less than a minute left in the fourth.
It was the second time this season that the Mustangs mounted a comeback against coach Liz Kay’s team.
“We were up 14 going to the fourth quarter down there, and then Olivia Chrzan, their best player, took off,” Kay said. “She tried to take over here. And she should. She’s the best player on the floor.
“Their size really bothers us. Even when it seems open, we’re jumping in different directions to avoid being blocked. And they do a good job of keeping their bodies in balance to just wreak havoc on shot selection.”
That was the case in the early part of both halves.
It took Wahconah more than four minutes to score its first points of the game – on a pair of Emma Jacinto free throws.
But despite three first-quarter buckets by Chrzan, Monsoon also had trouble getting its offense going early, and the teams ended the first quarter tied, 8-8.
In the second, Wahconah cranked up its defense, forcing 14 Monson turnovers in the period.
Dani Barry had four first-half steals, and Anna Doyle had three.
All that defense produced some easy buckets at the other end. Back-to-back steals by Jacinto and Samantha Kaley out of Wahcoah’s press led to buckets by McCarthy in an 8-0 run to half-time.
Monsoon scored the first seven points of the second half – five from Chrzan – to draw within seven before Wahconah got its first points of the half on a pair of Kaley free throws with 4:40 left in the third.
Chrzan ended up scoring 13 points in the third, which ended with Wahconah up by just three, 32-29.
That set up a back-and-forth fourth quarter when it was a two-possession game just once, after Mason’s free throw made it 33-29 with 7:27 left to play.
Midway through the quarter, Doyle (10 rebounds) drew her fifth foul. Kay turned to Gracey Farley to fill the void.
“Gracey is a ninth-grader, but Gracey can score,” Kay said. “She’s got a high basketball IQ. We thought getting her – she’s a lefty – coming off a screen, being guarded, we knew she was going to make the right pass. Or she’s very capable of taking a shot.
“She made a great pass coming off a ball screen to get a score, which is a pretty gutsy move for a freshman, to be that composed.”
McCarthy drove the lane and scored with 2 minutes, 17 seconds on the clock to give Wahconah a 37-34 lead.
After the teams traded empty trips, Chrzan drew a foul on the sideline. Kay picked up a technical foul for questioning the call, and the Monson standout ended up with four tries at the foul line, making two to get the margin to one point with 1:02 on the clock.
On the ensuing possession, Sedona Arbour scored for Monson to give it a 37-36 lead.
The next four possessions ended in turnovers – including one stop for each team from its press.
Following the last giveaway, on a block call against the Mustangs, Wahconah got the ball at midcourt.
A 3-point try from high on the right wing missed the mark, but McCarthy got the offensive rebound. She immediately put up a shot that rimmed out. But Mason pulled down the carom and put up the shot that fell through the net with 14.9 seconds left.
Monsoon got the ball into the front court and got a look at the basket from the right wing corner. But the shot was off line, and the rebound went to Barry, who was fouled with .5 seconds remaining and made one of her two free throws to provide the final margin.
Wahconah (7-2) takes a three-game winning streak into Monday’s home game against Amherst-Pelham.