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BOSTON — Yesterday's Division 4 girls basketball state final between Manchester Essex and Cohasset was strikingly similar to the Hornets' North final win over Fenway last Saturday. Unfortunately for the Hornets, the roles were reversed yesterday.
Instead of their opponent, the Hornets had a rough day shooting the basketball, converting just 12 of 45 attempts (26.7-percent), and yesterday it was Manchester Essex who had an eight-minute scoring drought. Lastly, it was Cohasset that brought a stingy defense en route to a 50-40 win over the Hornets at the TD Garden. It was the second time in the last three years (2008) that the Hornets fell to the Skippers in the state title at the Garden.
"As a team we just didn't flow (yesterday) I guess," Hornets junior guard Lizzy Ball said. "And our shots just didn't fall. We beat their press but we couldn't finish."
With the win, Cohasset finishes its season 25-0. The Hornets fell to 13-13 in defeat.
"It was a scrappy game," Skippers head coach John LeVangie said. "(Manchester Essex) is tough and well-coached and they didn't make anything easy for us. We made a lot of off-balance shots because their defense was so tough. We won, but it sure wasn't easy."
The Skippers, who boast a balanced scoring attack with five girls scoring between eight and 15 points per game according to LeVangie, were led by senior guard Meredith Kelly (19 points). While the Hornets were keying in on 6-foot-3 center Tori Lehr (11 points), Kelly torched them for 15 first-half points. Lehr, on the other hand, was held scoreless in the first half, but with the Hornets keying in on Kelly in the second, Lehr was able to get all 11 of her points.
"It wasn't the game plan to get me the ball," Kelly said. "I was just feeling it. And I needed to take on a big role offensively because they were keying in on Tori, but she got going in the second half."
Hornets head coach Lauren Dubois admitted that it was tough to guard a team with so many viable scoring options.
"We were worried about their post players so Kelly got her shots and she did something with them," Dubois said. "In the second half we had to switch up our defense to deny Kelly the ball and (Lehr) had a big half."
LeVangie also credited his team's defense, which did a good job on Ball, who had 14 points — the only time in the state tournament that she did not score over 20 points. The Skippers ran a 2-2-1 zone and had a guard pick up Ball before she crossed the half-court line.
"(Ball) is their best offensive weapon so we had to key in on her," LeVangie said. "Meredith did a great job on her. She may not be as good of a player as Ball but I knew she wasn't going to give her an inch."
The first half of yesterday's championship contest was a game of runs. The Hornets broke out to an early 8-4 lead thanks to six points from senior captain Julia Martz (11 points). Cohasset, however, went on a 9-0 run to end the quarter, culminating with a Sam Crough 3-pointer.
The Hornets followed up with a 6-0 run of their own, cutting the Skippers lead to one (15-14) with 5:30 to play in the half, but it was all down hill from there. While the Skippers finished the half on a 10-0 run taking a 25-14 lead into the half, the Hornets didn't score another point until there was 5:30 left in the third quarter, making it eight minutes without a basket.
"When we got down by 11 everybody hung their heads," Ball said. "When we should have been like, 'Come on, it's just 11 points.'"
The drought ended up being the difference in the game as the two teams traded buckets the entire second half. While Manchester Essex hung in there, it was not able to cut into the lead, as 11 points was as close as the Hornets got until the final minute.
Division 4 State Title
Cohasset 50, Manchester Essex 40
at TD Garden, Boston
Manchester Essex: Lizzy Ball 3-8-14, Jess Taylor 1-0-2, Sam Christopher 2-0-4, Julia Martz 4-3-11, Alicia Volpe 2-1-5, Abbi Biggar 1-1-4.
Cohasset: Rachel Fredey 0-2-2, Carli Haggerty 3-0-6, Meredith Kelly 9-1-19, Anna Seraikas 3-1-7, Samantha Crough 1-0-3, Tori Lehr 3-5-11, Allie Farren 1-0-2.
Halftime: Cohasset 25-14.
3-pointers: ME, Biggar; C, Crough.
Records: ME, 13-13; C, 25-0.
