AACA basketball semfinals: Villa Maria comes back to edge Mount in emotional OT battle

February 11, 2017

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SPRINGFIELD >> Battling from behind most of the game, Villa Maria Academy edged Mount St. Joseph’s, 64-63, in an emotional overtime victory Saturday evening to advance to the AACA championship game.

“I said to our kids at halftime [when we were trailing 31-25], ‘This is gut-check time,’” said Villa Maria head coach Kathy McCartney. “Our kids got an A for guts tonight. They battled all night, and were so resilient. And when I look down our bench and see everyone so engaged in the game like they were tonight, it makes me proud. …

And all the credit to Mount, too – they battled us all the way.”

The win pits second seed Villa Maria against top seed St. Basil’s in the AACA championship game Tuesday. St. Basil’s, considered one of the top teams in the state, edged fourth seed Gwynedd Mercy, 28-25, in the earlier AACA semifinal Saturday at LaSalle College High School.

To beat Mount St. Joseph’s, Villa Maria had to bounce back several times from sizable deficits late in the game. The Hurricanes trailed 50-43 with 5:34 to play in the fourth quarter, and were down 63-59 with 1:02 left in overtime.

Villa Maria sophomore forward Abby Walheim, who scored 17 points Saturday, said, “We put a lot of heart into the second half. Everyone on the bench was involved tonight.”

With Villa trailing 31-25 at halftime, the Hurricanes’ defense increased the pressure on Mount in the second half, causing a number of Magic turnovers.

McCartney said, “I challenged our team at halftime to step up its defense, and we played remarkably better in the second half on defense, getting in the passing lanes more.”

Villa Maria freshmen Paige Lauder and Morgan Warley also stepped up big-time Saturday. Warley, the younger sister of Bishop Shanahan’s 1,000-point scorer Courtney Warley, scored 13 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter (including two well-placed treys).

“Morgan really stepped up tonight – this was her coming-of-age game,” said McCartney.

Warley said, “I was nervous at times tonight, having to play point guard for a while. But I told myself the key was just to relax, and look for the open shots.”

Lauder grabbed 14 rebounds and led the Hurricanes in scoring with 18 points, and, while carrying four personal fouls made the game-winning play with 7.8 seconds left, intercepting a Mount pass in Villa territory with the score tied 63-63, getting fouled, and making the winning free throw.

This was a see-saw, emotional battle in which several players on the floor on both sides were carrying four personal fouls late in the game.

In the first half, Mount jumped to a 31-25 based on the sharpshooting of 5-9 junior Grace DiGiovanni and 6-0 senior Julie Hoover, who combined for 24 of those points.

Early in the third quarter, Mount senior Ashley Smith hit a three-point field goal from the top of the key to give the Magic a 36-27 lead.

Villa then put together a 13-4 run to tie the game at 41-41 just before the end of the third quarter. Lauder was hitting baskets underneath, and senior Erin DiDonato hit a couple of big outside shots during the run.

Mount pulled ahead 50-43 with just 5:34 left in the fourth quarter, but an open Warley came back with a trey from the right side. Lauder went to work on the boards, and soon after Warley hit a trey from the left side to cut the Mount lead to 51-50. A minute later, Villa went ahead 52-51 when Walheim fought for a defensive rebound, then fed a streaking Warley, who drove in to score. It was the first time Villa led since the beginning of the second quarter.

The game went back and forth for the rest of the fourth quarter; then in overtime, Mount’s Sarah Rothenberg made a three-point play from inside to give the Magic a 61-59 lead. A Villa turnover and a foul of DiGiovanni led to two Magic free throws and a 63-59 Mount lead with 1:02 left in overtime.

Villa senior Emily Gillin worked her way inside to score, and following a travelling violation by Mount, Walheim drove inside with 34 seconds left to tie the score at 63-63.

Twenty-seven seconds later, Lauder (18 points, 14 rebounds) made her game-winning interception and free throw, and Villa Maria was headed to the AACA finals.

For Mount, Hoover finished with 22 points and DiGiovanni netted 20.

Mount head coach Claire Perry said, “I’m proud of the effort we put up tonight. It was a real sisterhood of effort. [Hoover and DiGiovanni] had great games, but I’m proud of all of our players – Megan [Dodaro] took two charges [for example] – everyone contributed.

“We let Villa Maria get too many offensive boards, and going forward, we learned a lot tonight about staying composed. We’re looking forward to Districts.”

Battling from behind most of the game, Villa Maria Academy edged Mount St. Joseph’s, 64-63, in an emotional overtime victory Saturday evening to advance to the AACA championship game.