Minutemen pull away from Cosmos

The Mill River girls basketball team shook off a slow start to defeat visiting Springfield 55-33 at Houghton Memorial Gym on Thursday.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110211/SPORTS/702119846

Published February 11, 2011 in the Rutland Herald

Minutemen pull away from Cosmos

By Mike DelDotto
correspondent

NORTH CLARENDON — The Mill River girls basketball team shook off a slow start to defeat visiting Springfield 55-33 at Houghton Memorial Gym on Thursday.

After an 11-9 first-quarter lead, the Minutemen opened the second frame with a 10-1 run capped by a steal and layup from sophomore Maureen Taggart, followed by a free throw to finish the three-point play. Mill River stayed ahead from then on, stopping any momentum the Cosmos tried to grab.

“I thought we were a little flat (in the first quarter),” Mill River coach Ken Webb said. “It was tough with (senior captain) Chelsea Bagley getting in foul trouble early.”

Bagley’s foul trouble led to Taggart and fellow senior captain, Amanda Ley, stepping up on offense and defense.

“My hat goes off to them, those girls really handled the pressure,” Webb said.

Taggart finished with a game-high 16 points, including three 3s, while Ley had 10. Bagley finished with six points.

Springfield played Mill River even the rest of the half and went to halftime down 24-13.

A frustrated Springfield coach Brodie Ladue believed that the effort on defense was not consistent for the Cosmos.

“We didn’t box out, which we knew we had to do,” she said.

Ladue also said that fatigue may have had a role as it was the third game of the week for Springfield.

In the first half, the Cosmos ran a run-and-gun style offense, quickly moving the rock down the court and setting up finishes in the paint. But in the second half, Springfield spent more time setting up on the perimeter and moving the ball around the arc and top of the key; however shots weren’t falling and Mill River’s tenacious defense was causing turnovers left and right.

Significant for Mill River in the second half was the play in the paint by junior Alyssa Turgeon, who backed down opponents on offense and came away with rebounds on both ends of the court.

Webb said that he and Turgeon had spent the entire season working on boards and play under the hoop.

“She’s a hard worker for us,” he said. “She did a fantastic job on the boards today.”

Turgeon said she owes it to hard work finally paying off.

“When Chelsea (Bagley) got into trouble, we knew we had to step up,” she said.

Mill River opened the third quarter in similar fashion with a 14-6 run capped at the 3:42 mark by a steal in the defensive end by Bagley who brought it the length of the court for the lay in, prompting a timeout from Ladue. Immediately following the stoppage, Taggart hit a big 3-pointer and Springfield couldn’t recover and went into the fourth quarter down 42-25.

To Springfield’s credit, the Cosmos played hard until the final buzzer. Jenna Paul opened the quarter with a huge steal and finished the play with a nice layup, but the Cosmos couldn’t move the ball quick enough to get it by the Mill River defense, and lost the fourth period 8-6. Paul finished with eight points, while junior Liza Fontaine had a team-high nine points, and five boards.

The Minutemen have big plans for the remaining month of the season.

“I’m proud of the team,” Turgeon said with a smile. “We have a goal to get to Barre” for the Division III semifinals. “I think we’re going to do it.”