McHugh’s buzzer-beater in overtime lifts Villa Maria past Gwynedd Mercy to clinch AACA title

MALVERN >> Every senior wants their last regular season home game to be a memorable one. Villa Maria Academy’s Marah McHugh accomplished that in dramatic fashion.

McHugh sank a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to give the Hurricanes a 30-27 victory over Gwynedd Mercy on Thursday.

The win gave Villa the AACA title with a perfect 10-0 mark and it was also its seventh straight win as the Hurricanes moved to 19-2 overall.

“The good news is that we found a way to win a game and that’s the whole object,” said Villa coach Kathy McCartney. “We didn’t play real well today, but we found a way to win, it’s been the MO of this team all year. They battled to the final buzzer. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a W and that’s what counts.”

The score was tied 27-27 as neither team scored to open up the extra session. Villa ran down the final two minutes as the Monarchs sat in a zone. Following a timeout, Villa ran a play, but Gwynedd pressured them out near half court as time wound down. Clare Cronley handed the ball off to McHugh, who turned around and launched a 30-footer in front of the Villa bench. The ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded as the bench rushed McHugh (12 points) in joyous celebration.

“It was very exciting because I was giving the ball to Carly (Cantania) to shoot the buzzer beater, and when she gave it back to me, I was surprised I got it. When I chucked it up, I didn’t expect it to go in, but it did. It was crazy,” said a still ecstatic McHugh. “I was hoping Carly would shoot it, to be honest, but she’s a sharer. I appreciate it. She’s a good teammate.”

McCartney had a great view of the shot and was confident the moment it left McHugh’s hand.

“Actually, I did (think it was going in). Because it wasn’t a great shot in the flow of the offense, but as soon as it left her hand, it had good rotation on it,” said McCartney. “My father used to say years ago, it’s better to be lucky than good. And we were lucky today.”

For Gwynedd Mercy coach Tom Lonergan, the ending was disappointing, especially seeing how his team played the final possession.

“It was their only three of the game,” Lonergan said. “That should count as a four-point play because it was so far away. I’m very proud of our young team for the way they adjusted. They did a great job on some of the tweaks they did defensively. They listened.”

The meeting was far different from the first time the team played, a 40-32 win by Villa. The Hurricanes led 23-17 after three periods after holding the Monarchs to just three free throws. Gwynedd went 0-for-8 from the floor in the quarter.

Dylan Burke scored from in close to break the nearly 11-minute goalless drought to cut the deficit to 25-20 with 5:32 left. Cara Lapp buried a three to close the gap to two.

Seconds later after a turnover, one of seven in the period for the Hurricanes, Hannah Griffin scored, was fouled, and made the free throw to give the Monarchs a 26-25 lead with 4:20 left, their first since leading 2-0.

“We were out of our comfort zone today for some reason,” McCartney said. “We usually averaged 10 turnovers a game and I can’t count how many we had today (18).”

Down 27-25, Villa posted a free throw from McHugh and one from Clare Cronley with a minute left to tie the score. Gwynedd had a last second shot blocked by Cronley and off the game went to overtime.

“The rebounding,” McHugh said when asked about why the team struggled. “The thought of it is easier than putting the thought to action. She (MaCartney) took one of her timeouts to tell us to rebound, which is not supposed to happen.”

Despite it all, McHugh sent the home crowd away happy one final time.

“It was a good way to end it,” she said.

Villa Maria 30, Gwynedd Mercy 27, OT
Gwynedd Mercy: Lapp 1 0-4 3; Balkir 1 0-0 3; Coleman 1 3-4 6; Griffin 3 3-5 9; Burke 2 0-0 4; Newell 0 0-1 0; McDonnell 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 6-14 27.
Villa Maria: Guerzon 1 0-0 2; Irvine 1 0-1 2; Iacone 2 0-1 4; Cronley 2 0-2 5; McHugh 4 1-2 12; Sharp 0 0-0 0; Catania 2 0-0 4; Nash 0 1-3 1. Totals: 13 2-9 30.
Gwynedd Mercy 7 7 3 10 0 — 27
Villa Maria 7 8 8 4 3 — 30
3-point goals: Lapp, Balkir, Coleman, McHugh.