Quantcast
OVERALL

0-0

PCT

0

CONF.

0-0

PCT

0

STREAK

W0

HOME

0-0

AWAY

0-0

NEUTRAL

0-0

Hull, Mill River eke out 41-35 victory in OT

Posted On: Tuesday, January 19, 2016
By: kmaniery
OV Game

Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo Otter Valley Union High School’s Amy Jones blocks a shot from Mill River’s Olivia McPhee during Monday’s game in North Clarendon

NORTH CLARENDON — After a close one got away against rival Fair Haven at home last week the Mill River girls basketball team overturned an Otter Valley bid and won an exam-week special, 41-35 in overtime in a Monday afternoon Marble Valley League matinee.
What made it more special is that the Minutemen had to rally after trailing 22-15 at the half, tied the game near the end of regulation with a Haley Hull free throw and outscored the gutty Otters 10-4 in overtime, with four Minutemen scoring.
It was a tug-of-war all the way. The Minutemen won the first period 9-8, lost the second 14-6, won the third 14-2 and lost the fourth 7-2.
What was fairly consistent for Mill River was a pressure defense that helped cause 17 turnovers after halftime, including nine in the third period.
“We actually switched up (the defense) and I think that threw them off a little bit and we actually packed it in a little bit and were able to rebound a little better in the second half,” said Minuteman coach Ken Webb.
With the Otters defense clogging the paint, the Minutemen turned to Jessica Audy and she came up with 17 points, including 11 to rally the Minutemen in the third period.
Gabby Poalino led Otter Valley with 12 points in a sparking bench performance that also included 13 rebounds. Her 10 points in the first half helped the Otters rally from 6-2 down to a 22-15 halftime lead.
“She was tough,” said Webb. “She’s a sophomore and she’s very strong and physical and hit some key shots.”
“She’s improved steadily all year,” said OV coach Stephen Keith.
Mill River is now 9-3 while the Otters slipped to 5-6.
Olivia McPhee’s runner in heavy traffic gave the Minutemen the lead for good in the extra session. After OV’s Sophie Bloomer hit a free throw Mill River’s Rylee Nichols hit a foul line jumper and the Minutemen press forced a turnover that led to a Nichols free throw. Another Hull free throw made it 37-32. Bloomer’s trey edged OV to within 37-35 with 47 seconds left but that’s where OV’s scoring ended.
“Otter Valley’s been playing really good basketball,” said Webb. “They are really tenacious on defense and I thought they did a nice job taking away a lot of things we wanted to do, And to be able to get a win at home against a tough Otter Valley team is a real plus for us, especially after not being able to get a win the other night.”
One of the things OV took away was Mill River’s inside game; other than three times that Hull fed cutting teammates for layups the Minutemen came up empty in the paint in the first half.
The Otters also struggled to score inside until Poalino entered the game, giving them steady production as well as rebounding on both ends of the floor. Her stickback at the end of the first period started a run where she scored eight straight Otters points. She book-ended that run with another stickback and OV pulled into a 14-14 tie. The Otters closed the half with a 10-1 run, with Sophie Markowski hitting a layup and a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the second period.
But guard play is Mill River’s strength and the hosts used that as a spearhead to disrupt the Otters with full-court pressure in the third. And rather than challenge Poalino and Amy Jones inside, they looked to Audy and she responded with three of her four treys as the Minutemen built a 29-24 lead through three.
OV fashioned a 7-1 run to start the fourth period and took its final lead at 31-30 on Maia Edmunds’ long bank shot with 3:37 to play. But four turnovers down the stretch stalled the Otters’ surge. Audy had two steals in that stretch, one of them a pass first tipped by Nichols.
Still the Otters had the last possession of regulation but couldn’t get a shot to drop.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win it and I thought we had a good chance and it didn’t go down,” said Keith. “We could have won and when they come to our place hopefully it will go our way.”
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google +
  • email
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
Processing your request, Please wait....

Alerts

     

    Please log in to vote

    You need to log in to vote. If you already had an account, you may log in here

    Alternatively, if you do not have an account yet you can create one here.