Villa Maria makes key plays late in win over Mount Saint Joseph

SPRINGFIELD >> It was a roller coaster of a fourth quarter for Villa Maria Academy against Mount Saint Joseph Academy Thursday night.

The Hurricanes took their biggest lead of the game — an eight-point advantage — with less than four minutes remaining. With 40 seconds left, they found themselves trailing for the first time since the third quarter.

When the final buzzer sounded, Villa Maria was on the right side of a one-point game and left Mount Saint Joseph Academy with a hard-fought Catholic Academies win, 46-45.

Elaina Guerzon made the game-winning basket for the Hurricanes (2-1, 1-0 AACA) with 11 seconds left. After missing a close-range shot, her teammates grabbed the rebound and got the ball back to her. She converted the layup to give her side a 46-45 lead.

“It was very shocking,” Guerzon said. “I missed the first layup and then my teammates had my back. They gave me a good look again and I made it that time. There was (some hesitancy the second time), but I believed in myself and I just hoped for the best.”

VMA called timeout before the Mount (3-1, 1-1 AACA) could inbound with 9.5 seconds on the clock to set up their defense. The Magic got the ball up the floor quickly and Kiersten Pumilia had a chance inside the three-point line, but her floater bounced off the rim and VMA celebrated its win.

“We didn’t go in the tank,” VMA coach Kathy McCartney said. “We kept playing. It’s the theme of ‘next play, next play.’ We didn’t lock down on defense the way I wanted us to at the end, but we came back and did what we had to do on offense. Little resiliency, they showed a lot of maturity. This is a tough road win, tough place to play.”

The Magic went on an 11-2 run over 2:28 to turn a 42-34 deficit into a 45-44 lead. Lauren Hoffman made a pair of layups and Georgia Pickett finished one of her own to get within 42-40, but VMA’s Ella Iacone stopped the run with a basket. Hoffman made it 44-42 with 1:10 left and Pumilia scored through contact with 40.2 seconds on the clock. She made the free throw to put the Mount ahead, 45-44.

“Defense into offense,” Mount coach Matt Feeney said of his team alternating baskets and steals to get back into the game and take the lead. “The kids fed on adrenaline. We were down two players tonight, so we were a little under-manned, but credit to (VMA), they did a nice job.”

Prior to Hoffman’s basket with 3:08 left in the game, the Mount didn’t score for more than six minutes. The game was tied 34-34 late in the third quarter before the Hurricanes went on an 8-0 to build their 42-34 lead late in the fourth quarter.

“We locked down,” McCartney said of her defense during that stretch. “We were smart. We were switching on the right screens. I need to find a way to do that for the other parts of the game.”

“We didn’t really execute the half-court offense well at all,” Feeney said. “They did a nice job of playing defense in that stretch. I didn’t think we were aggressive enough in that stretch. Candidly, I think we were a little bit tired.”

Clare Cronley led the Hurricanes with 15 points. Guerzon added 12 and Iacone nine.

Hoffman paced the Magic with 15 points. Pickett and Pumilia joined her in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

“We need (Hoffman) to score,” Feeney said. “She’s a talented scorer. You saw it on display here tonight. She’s good going to the basket, she’s good from deep. She’s tough to guard.”

Villa Maria Academy 46, Mount Saint Joseph Academy 45
Villa Maria Academy 8 14 15 9 – 46
Mount Saint Joseph Academy 13 11 10 11 – 45
Villa Maria: Guerzon 4 3-4 12, Irvine 1 0-0 2, Murphy 1 1-2 3, Iacone 4 1-3 9, Bailer 0 0-0 0, Broadhurst 2 1-2 5, Cronley 5 1-2 15. Total 17 7-13 46.
Mount Saint Joseph: Pumilia 3 4-5 11, Hoffman 7 0-0 15, Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Birmingham 1 0-0 2, Pickett 6 0-2 13, Smith 1 0-0 2. Total 19 4-7 45.
3-point goals: VMA: Guerzon, Cronley 4. MSJ: Pumilia, Hoffman, Pickett.