Pentucket defeats Masconomet 44-43 in overtime Friday night

February 2, 2013 Peter McClelland

Peter McClelland

 

WEST NEWBURY, Mass. --  It is not often that you see two good teams have so much trouble shooting and taking care of the ball.

But those on hand at Pentucket Regional High School saw a night full of misfiring and mishandles before the Sachems (15-1) eked out a, 44-43, overtime win over Masconomet Regional High School (11-3) on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

The key to the Pentucket win was the steady play of Tess Nogueira.  The 6-foot senior led all scorers with 20 points and owned the boards.

Masco had Pentucket on the ropes 40-36 with 1:11 left in regulation.  However, a Nogueira offensive rebound and two Chieftain turnovers opened the door for the Sachems to get back and get overtime.

The four-minute overtime fit perfectly into the pattern established in regulation – missed opportunities galore.  Masco didn’t make any shot until the final buzzer!

Kelsi McNamara missed two free throws with 2 ½ minutes remaining in OT.  However, Nogueira made two with 1:02 to go and Pentucket had a 42-40 lead.

Nicole Femino (14 points) then missed both free throws with forty-three seconds left but a Pentucket turnover gave Masco another chance with fourteen seconds left.

However, the visitors messed up the inbounds pass (Tess was in the vicinity of where the pass went) and now the Chieftains were forced to foul (McNamara) with 7.7 seconds left.  McNamara had missed two earlier in OT but this time she connected twice to give the Sachems a four-point advantage.

Good thing, for Pentucket, that McNamara made both of them because Femino tossed in a buzzer-beating three.

It is easy to harp on the poor shooting and turnovers and forget that both teams are loaded with tireless defenders.  In a gym that is always tropical, the wear-and-tear of facing game-long Pentucket pressure will usually cause trouble.  By my count, the Chieftains had thirty turnovers.

Another factor in the Masco loss was Claudia Marsh getting into foul trouble.  Marsh picked up her third foul late in the first half and fouled out late in the game.  Her strong defense on Nogueira was sorely missed for many minutes.  Marsh scored a basket at the buzzer to end the third quarter.

There were 10 lead changes and neither team was able to get ahead by more than four points.

Meghan Collins and Kate Kitsakos connected on consecutive three’s in the fourth quarter.

Kassidy Kennefick came off the Sachem bench in the first quarter to hit a quick long one.

One of the biggest baskets in the game was a jump shot in the lane by McKenna Kilian off a missed McNamara shot in the last 30 seconds of regulation.

Pentucket was determined to spread the Masco man-to-man defense and get to the hoop for layups or foul shots.  On this night making the layups, under heavy Masco defensive pressure, was difficult.  The Sachems did get thirty-four free throws out of attacking the basket and made twenty-two of them.  Tess Nogueira was 10-for-14.

Pentucket won the first meeting in December with Masco, 45-33.

Pentucket suffered its only loss of the season on Jan. 26 at Hingham against Division II Notre Dame.  A week earlier, at Pentucket, the Sachems had won.

Masconomet hosts Hamilton-Wenham on Tuesday.  Pentucket will visit North Reading on the same day.

Pentucket Boxscore

Masconomet Boxscore

From McClelland Miscellanea

 

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