http://eagletimes.villagesoup.com/p/mcallister-sets-springfield-school-scoring-record-during-cosmos-73-64-win-over-yellow-jackets/1303970
McAllister sets Springfield school scoring record during Cosmos' 73-64 win over Yellow Jackets
By Anthony Labor Jr. | Feb 11, 2015
Photo by: Anthony Labor Jr.Springfield's Chelsea McAllister, middle, is surrounded by teammates after setting the Springfield school scoring record during Wednesday's game against Windsor.
Springfield Girls Basketball vs. Windsor 2/11/15
Springfield's Nicole Patterson, right, hugs Chelsea McAllister after she set the school scoring record during Wednesday's game against Windsor. (Photo by: Anthony Labor Jr.)
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SPRINGFIELD — Wednesday was a big night to say the least for Springfield senior Chelsea McAllister.
She entered the game against rival Windsor needing only 27 points to take control of the all-time school scoring record, which was set at 1,609 by Grant White in the 2008-09 season.
Not only did McAllister reach the mark, but she also finished with 35 points and a quadruple-double to lead the Cosmos to a 73-64 win on senior night over the Yellow Jackets.
She now holds the record with 1,618 points and counting.
It was an exciting send off for not only McAllister, but for fellow seniors Jordan Phelps and Nicole Patterson.
“I’m speechless right now,” said McAllister. “I couldn’t ask for a better situation than doing this on senior night and against one of our rivals.”
To go along with her 35 points, she also finished with 13 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals.
Springfield coach Joe Brown was happiest with her assists total knowing she was more than capable to reach the milestone.
“I told Chelsea before the game to just let (the record) happen and not force things,” said Brown. “We all knew she would score 27 tonight, but she just needed to let things flow and happen.
“She did a great job getting her teammates involved early, which opened up the defense a little,” he added. “She has done everything I have asked of her this season and makes it easier for herself and makes things easier for her teammates. She’s a great player and I just love watching her play.”
Despite a slow start to the game, Windsor battled back late in the first and early in the second quarter to take a slight lead.
McAllister hit two big 3-pointers late in the second quarter to give the Cosmos a nine-point lead at the break and Windsor never caught back up.
The Yellow Jackets struggled at the foul line especially early on. After starting 1-6 in the first quarter at the line, the Yellow Jackets ended the game going 20 of 33.
“We just missed a lot of easy layups tonight,” said Windsor coach Bruce Mackay. “And we really struggled early at the foul line. If we end up making more of those early on, this game would look a little different.”
Behind Windsor’s poor shooting from the free-throw line, Springfield jumped out to a quick 15-4 lead early in the first quarter behind five points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals from McAllister.
Windsor responded with six points in the final minutes behind two layups by Iyanna Williams and a late putback by Maddy Morse (14 points, 15 rebounds).
The Yellow Jackets kept the momentum going in the second quarter behind two 3’s by Ashlee Bly to take a 17-15 lead.
Both teams battled back and forth from there the rest of the quarter, until McAllister hit back-to-back 3’s to end the second half to give the Cosmos a 39-30 lead going into the locker room.
“Chelsea is just a tough player to guard out there,” said Mackay. “We held her well in the first quarter, but she started to step back and hit those longer shots, which hurt us a little bit late in the first half.”
The Cosmos kept the Yellow Jackets at arms length in the third quarter behind six points from McAllister and four from Aunna Parker, as they held a 55-43 lead going into the final frame.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t go away without a fight in the final eight minutes and kept things interesting throughout. McAllister hit a 3 to start the fourth before Windsor went on a 9-4 run to get the game within seven points. Both teams went back and forth until the final minute of the game. After Morse hit two free throws to make it a 70-63 game, Windsor stole the ball and had an open look at the basket, but missed the shot, which Springfield rebounded.
“That shot definitely hurt us,” said Mackay. “That could have made it a five-point game, which would have been huge for us, but that was how the night kind of went for us.”
Jordan Phelps (five points) hit one of two free throws and Ari Rowe (six points, seven rebounds) hit a layup as time expired to give the team a seven-point victory.
The loss dropped Windsor to 10-9 in the standings where they dropped from seventh to ninth place, as they fell a game behind Twin Valley for the eighth and final home playoff spot.
The Yellow Jackets will travel to Mill River on Friday for their final regular-season game.
“We are still a young team that makes some bad decisions in crucial situations like we did tonight,” said Mackay. “Hopefully we can learn from this game and know what to do the next time we are in a situation like we were tonight and come away with a better outcome.
“Even though the outcome was what it was, I am happy with the effort the girls showed tonight,” he added. “They played their hearts out on the floor tonight.”
Springfield improved to 11-8 and jumped up a spot from sixth to fifth in the Division II standings with one game to play when they host Rivendell for a makeup game on Saturday.
“I think we played with a lot of emotion, both good and bad, and put ourselves in a tighter position than I think we should have been in,” said Brown. “There were times where we rushed too many things and missed some easy layups, which are some things we have to clean up going forward.”
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