It has been a season of firsts for the Monticello girls’ basketball team.
The Mustangs finished the regular season in second place in the Jefferson District for the first time ever. Last Friday, Monticello won the Jefferson District tournament for the first time. Last night, the Mustangs won their first regional playoff game the school's 15-year history, narrowly defeating Handley 49-46.
This game was a battle until the final seconds. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Handley’s Cassandra Alamo drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the Monticello lead to just two points. Handley trailed by one point 20 seconds to go and had a chance to win but Monticello's Bridget Holleran came away with the steal and was fouled.
“I knew we needed a stop,” Holleran said. “I saw the ball so I grabbed it and ran down the court.”
Holleran converted on both free throws to complete the scoring. Holleran and Emily Larabee combined to go 3 for 4 from the foul line down the stretch. The Mustangs have had seven games decided by five points or less this season. Monticello came out on the losing end of the close games at the beginning of the season, but has found a way to win them as of late. Head coach Josh McElheny said the experience of being in those games has helped his team grow this season.
“It seems like its been like this every night for the past month,” McElheny said. “Luckily we’ve been in this situation before. We found a way to stick it out and fight for it.”
The Mustangs built a seven-point lead in the third quarter before the Judges came storming back . Handley went on an 8-0 run to briefly take the lead. The Mustangs answered with a 6-0 run of their own to retake the lead.
Monticello again built a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter but the Judges would not go away. Slowly but surely Handley chipped away at the lead and ended up pushing the Mustangs to the limit.
“That team over there did not quit,” McElheny said. “Our defense definitely got stops when we need to and that is something we worked on. We definitely relied on the defense tonight.”
Freshman Molly Shephard led the Mustangs with 16 points. Holleran added 11 points while Meghan Comer finished in double figures as well with 10.
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