Gwynedd Mercy limits Mount St. Joseph to win AACA regular-season title
LOWER GWYNEDD >> The seconds continued to wind off the third quarter clock as Gwynedd Mercy crawled along its offensive set.
With Erica DeCandido on the bench to protect her from a third foul, it would be up to the other Monarchs to get the play together. Eventually, they did and the ball went where it was supposed to, right into the hands of Brigit Coleman at the top of the arc.
The senior took her shot and drained it, her 3-pointer splashing through with just .9 left on the clock in the frame.
GMA had done it, then DeCandido came back in and helped polish off. Led by DeCandido and Coleman on their senior day, the Monarchs ground their way past Mount St. Joseph, 36-27 in their home gym and claimed their second straight regular season AACA title.
“It felt great for me personally,” Coleman said inside a still-raucous gym. “It got everyone on the bench excited too. We wanted to come out in the fourth strong after ending on that note.”
When Mount and GMA meet on a basketball court it’s very rare that a lot of points get scored. The Monarchs had two big principles Monday evening, crash the glass and make things as tough as possible for Mount’s standout backcourt duo of Libby Tacka and Caitlyn Cunningham.
CLICK HERE FOR THE PHOTO GALLERY
Both turned to be successful. Paced by 12 rebounds from DeCandido, GMA cornered the market on long rebounds off the Magic’s 3-pointers and stopped second chance plays from developing. On defense, Maggie Cameron and Danielle Senour hounded Tacka and Cunningham, holding the pair to 15 total points.
At the half, Gwynedd Mercy held a 17-6 lead thanks to 10 points from DeCandido, some tough defense and an energized crowd. Gwynedd’s small gym was packed to capacity and loud, so loud the players had trouble hearing each other, let alone their coaches on the bench.
DeCandido, in the few instances she was on the bench and any time she was on the floor, was constantly yelling out play calls over the din.
“It was really important to us because our student body had a big turnout and I think that was the most important part of winning this game,” DeCandido said. “It’s not just everyone on this team but everyone else that came out and supported us, that’s just what I love about this school. To see that support and to make this place as loud as it was, I would have never imagined it.”
Coleman's 3 with .9 left on the clock to end the third quarter against Mount @PaPrepLive pic.twitter.com/E0wEiEGhyb
— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) February 2, 2016
The senior was selling short her contributions, along with the work of Coleman on the offensive end. The tandem combined for 32 of the team’s 36 points, with Coleman sinking a trio of 3-pointers and six boards of her own. DeCandido scored in all manner of ways, hitting baseline jumpers, cutting hard to the hoop and driving it all the way herself.
Coleman was a little more reliant on her teammates for the set-up, but the guard provided the payoff, hitting two of her 3s inside the final minute of the third quarter to give the team a 13-point lead and big boost for the final eight minutes.
“Brigit was a huge asset today, she played the best game I’ve seen from her so far this season,” DeCandido said. “She knew what she had to do and came out and did that and beyond. That 3 was so big, it was just awesome. The atmosphere, her hitting all her shots and everyone so hyped, it was a really good experience.”
Waiting for that last play of the third to develop was anything but relaxing for GMA coach Tom Lonergan.
“It took an awful long time to get into that play,” Lonergan said. “It’s understood because Erica was on the sideline and she’s usually in that play. Luckily they kept their cool because we weren’t on the sideline. They kept their cool to realized they could at least one look and that’s all we needed, one look.”
Tacka, who had a slow start in the first half, tried to will her team back into it, scoring eight of her 13 in the third. The senior also hit a 3 in the fourth to cut the lead to 31-19, sparking an 8-2 run that pulled the Magic within 33-24. Ashley Smith’s trey with 1:10 left made it 33-27 GMA before Coleman and DeCandido hit three foul shots in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.
Mount didn’t get closer because GMA’s defense got the stops it needed inside the final 90 seconds. With Senour and Cameron doing the heavy lifting, the rest of the team became help defenders.
“We played great team defense,” Coleman said. “Our posts did a great job getting rebounds. We emphasized rebounds because we haven’t been doing too well with that.”
“We knew that if they got by them, IF, we had to be there,” DeCandido said. “We had to be ready to help and if they dished it out, we had to be right on top of the girl shooting.”
The win hands GMA its second straight AACA title and the top seed in the league tournament next week. St. Basil may have a say in it, owning a win over Mount this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see these foes meet one more time.
But for the moment, the Monarchs are going to celebrate their accomplishment and try to get the ringing out of their ears. After all, Cardinal O’Hara comes in Wednesday.
“I’m proud of the team and the program,” Lonergan said. “My seniors this year, I came in with them as sophomores and I knew when I came in with them we had some good talent there and it was just a matter of time if we could keep working hard at it.
“I’m very proud of our senior class and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”
