SLC LADY LARRIES WIN CLASS C CHAMPIONSHIP 49-46 MW

In the girls final, Madrid-Waddington (18-4) ran out to a quick 7-2 lead and survived a number of missed shots by St. Lawrence (11-11) to go into the second quarter ahead 10-6. The lady Yellowjackets matched their biggest lead of the game when senior Alexis Sullivan scored to open the second, but freshman JV call-up Rylee Daoust came off the bench and promptly drained a 3-pointer from the right corner. Junior Mackenzie Moreau then tied the game at 12-12 with a 3-pointer just over a minute later, then converted from short range with 4:45 left in the half to give the Larries a lead that they would not surrender the rest of the way.

A second triple by Daoust with 3:47 left in the third quarter gave SLC its biggest lead at 37-23, but a late Madrid run cut the deficit to 38-28 to start the fourth. The teams traded baskets to open the final quarter, before Marissa McLean put the Larries up 44-32 with 6:28 remaining.

Freshman Grace Plumley helped the Yellowjackets get back on track with two straight field goals to key a 10-point run that ended with Sullivan connecting from in close with 2:29 left to make it 44-42. Sullivan, who scored six straight points in the fourth, tied the game at 46-46 with a pair of free throws with 1:12 remaining, but on the next SLC possession, Moreau was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer and with 56 seconds left, then sank all three of her attempts to make it 49-46. Laney Tiernan cut the deficit back to one with a pair of free throws on the next M-W possession, but Moreau would cap a career night with four more foul shots in the closing seconds to seal the championship win. “I just took a deep breath, looked up at the time and said to myself, ‘I need to make these’. We’ve been working hard for this for a long time,” noted Moreau, after SLC won the sectional title for the first time since 2015.

McLean, a senior who now stands just nine points away from joining classmate Maggi Yandoh in the 1,000-point club at SLC, was next leading scorer for the Larries with 13 points, followed by Daoust with nine, Yandoh with six and Abbi Lemieux with one.

“We got off to a slow start this season, but the girls have really picked things up over the second half,” said St. Lawrence coach Chad Gauthier. “We were ready for this game.”

Junior Emma Plumley emerged as leading scorer for the Jackets with 19 points, followed by Sullivan with 14, Grace Plumley with six, Lydia Thomas with five and Tiernan with two. Lily LaMere and Anna Brady both netted one.

“I saw videos of some of their games this season and I knew they were going to be a tough matchup for us,” said Madrid-Waddington coach Bryan Harmer. “Three words have described our team all year – resilience, resolve and grit – and tonight, I thought we showed all three again. We were down 12 points in the fourth, but we dug our way back and gave ourselves an opportunity to win.
1 post ·
Grid ViewFeed View