Bellows Falls tops Springfield in OT

Basketball games are often won and lost at the foul line and that was the case Friday night as Bellows Falls bested Springfield 45-36 in overtime.


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http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20170107/SPORTS02/170109681 http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20170107/SPORTS02/170109681 2017-01-07 / Sports Bellows Falls tops Springfield in OT «» View full-size Bellows Falls' Michelle Marchica shoots past Springfield's Cassidy Otis. — TIM TAYLOR http://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/BFGB.jpghttp://www.eagletimes.com/sites/www.eagletimes.com/files/imagecache/full/SprGB.JPG By TIM TAYLOR sports@eagletimes.com WESTMINSTER — Basketball games are often won and lost at the foul line and that was the case Friday night as Bellows Falls bested Springfield 45-36 in overtime. The Terriers went 7-for-12 at the charity stripe while the visitors missed all four free throws in the extra session. “A great win,” said BF coach Joe Goodhue. “That was a good team effort. “We have potential to do damage. We played tough D. I was pleased.” Abbe Cravinho, who missed her first three attempts, made the last three, all in OT. Murphy Hicks nailed both her free throws. Hannah Kelly, whom Goodhue says is usually golden at the stripe, hit two in OT to take the sting out of a 3-for-10 effort on the night. The Cosmos' woes at the free-throw started in regulation as they went 8-for-21. They were just 4-for-12 in the fourth quarter. Springfield actually held the advantage for a pretty good chunk of the game, having a 10-7 lead after a quarter and an 18-16 edge at the half. BF would creep back to take a 22-20 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter following a Goodhue out. “Even like in regulation, the girls here, when I had the out, they're like we've got this, we've got ,” Goodhue said. “They decided to rebound.” The Terriers would lead or be tied (three s) over the next 9-plus minutes before the Cosmos finally went back on top 27-25 with 4:13 remaining in regulation. Ten seconds later, a Hannah Crosby steal and layup would make it a 4-point game, but Bellows Falls refused to go away. Molly Kelly took a pass from Keri Ticino at mid-court and went the rest of the way for a layup, but Crosby put back a rebound of her own missed free throw to make it 31-27 with 1:28 to go. Those 88 seconds were more than enough for the Terriers to regroup in and Madison Streeter found herself wide open twice to sandwich 3-pointers around a Cassidy Otis foul shot, giving BF a 33-32 lead with 1:04 on the clock. Michelle Marchica would can a free throw at :43.4 and Streeter added two more at :33.9 to push the advantage to 36-32. This time, it was the Cosmos who refused to lay down and they battled back to tie the game at 36 on a pair of Otis free throws at :17 and an Otis basket with 4.2 seconds left. With the exception of Cravinho and Ticino treys, Springfield pretty much shut the BF offense down in the opening period. Two buckets each from Aunna Parker and Otis, and another by Crosby gave Springfield its 10-7 lead after the first eight minutes of action. Only Murphy Hicks scored more than two points in a tightly-contested second quarter (she had three) as the Cosmos went into the break clinging to an 18-16 lead. Springfield coach Joe Costello realizes youth plays into his team's struggles. “I think where we have breakdowns, it's not because of our lack of athleticism. It's not because of our lack of hustle. It's because of our inexperience, making poor decision and not recognizing the time-score situation and what we're trying to do,” he said. Youth and inexperience showed on both sides — and at times those aspects proved to be key factors in the reason the game remained tight throughout. Otis led all scorers with 14 points as Springfield slipped to 2-6 on the season. Crosby contributed 10. Cravinho and Streeter netted 10 points apiece for the Terriers, and Hannah Kelly added nine as BF improved to 2-1. Bellows Falls visits Williamstown on Monday while Springfield is off until next Saturday's home game against Otter Valley. Terriers top Cosmos BELLOWS FALLS — Springfield’s Hayley Perham sunk a 12-footer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime but it was all Bellows Falls in the extra period as the Terriers outscored Springfield 9-0 to secure a 45-36 victory Friday night in Marble Valley League basketball. Abbie Cravino and Madison Streeter each scored 10 for Bellows Falls which are now 2-1. Cassidy Otis led the 2-6 Cosmos with 14. Bellows Falls travels to Twin Valley on Monday.