Third time’s a charge for Bobcats
OXFORD – Bainbridge-Guilford set the stage for a “repeat Saturday” in the Midstate Athletic Conference basketball championships Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats, like the season before, avenged the regular-season outcomes to defeat Unatego in the final a second time in as many years, 49-44.
Jennifer Patten and Nicole Conway each were good on four foul shot attempts in the last two minutes to surge past the Spartans, who entered the game with an 18-1 record.
“We work on free throws every day in practice,” summed up Patten, who showed little nerves hitting the game-tying and go-ahead freebies. “We knew we had to be aggressive, and everyone stepped up their games.”
It was B-G’s third Midstate Athletic Conference title and fourth overall league championship under 16th-year head coach Bob Conway. Conway said the biggest difference between Saturday’s game and the near-miss at B-G earlier this season was Patten’s presence on the floor. In that game, the senior 1,000-point scorer sat substantial minutes with foul trouble in the second half.
“Every team has its glue,” Conway said. “For Unatego it’s Colleen O’Hara, and for us it is Jennifer. “Whether she is making the pass, scoring or rebounding, she makes us click and dictates what we do.”
O’Hara, just a sophomore, may be he heir apparent to the league’s dominant player with the impending graduations of B-G’s Patten and Harpursville’s Lindsay Kimmel, the two league MVPs this season.
O’Hara hit back-to-back three balls during a 9-0 Unatego run in the third quarter to move her club in front by four. She added a driving layup late in the stanza as the Spartans took a 37-34 lead into the last quarter.
Once in the fourth, the lead was tied or changed hands four times, the last Spartans lead coming on O’Hara’s deep three ball with 2:22 left to up her team’s lead to 44-41. It was the last hoop for Unatego as B-G’s foul shooting precision took over.
Patten drove to the hoop after a Marcie Day steal, and nearly made the basket for a three-point play opportunity. She hit both attempts closing the gap to one.
After an exchange of possessions, Patten again drew a foul setting up two free throws with 27.3 seconds left. She buried both for the advantage.
Unatego worked the clock down on its next possession looking for the go-ahead basket. Six-foot-one senior, Mackensey O’Hara, established inside post position, but missed a short hook shot with six seconds left for the lead. Conway gathered the rebound and wrapped up the contest from the line. O’Hara, an all-division player for the Spartans, was held to a season-low four points.
“This is a game the kids needed to execute, and they realized it was different level of execution we needed to have,” Bob Conway said. “We’re shooting just under 70 percent from the foul line as a team, and we had the right kids at the line at the end of the game.”
B-G (17-2) had 20 points from Patten and Samantha Spalholz added 10. Colleen O’Hara led Unatego with 18 points.
B-G has a first-round bye in the Class C playoffs and will play the winner of Edison and Sidney at home on Feb. 23.
B-G: Sam Spalholz, 5 0-2-10; Mariah Schaeffer, 2 0-0-4; Jen Patten, 6 8-10-20; Liz Holbert, 0 1-2-1; Brittany Fahringer, 0; Nicole Conway, 1 4-4-6; Marcie Day, 3 2-6-8. Totals: 17 15-24-49.
Unatego: Ashley Walke 0 0-0-0, Chelsie Dalton 2 4-4-8, Katya Harris 1 0-0-2, Colleen O’Hara 7 0-1-18, MacKensey O’Hara 2 0-0-4, Blake Shelton 5 2-5-12. Totals: 17 6-10-44.
Unat. 6 16 15 7–44
B-G 14 9 11 15–49
Fouled out: (U) C. O’Hara. Three-point goals: (U) C. O’Hara 4, officials: D. Carey, K. Reynolds.
The Bobcats, like the season before, avenged the regular-season outcomes to defeat Unatego in the final a second time in as many years, 49-44.
Jennifer Patten and Nicole Conway each were good on four foul shot attempts in the last two minutes to surge past the Spartans, who entered the game with an 18-1 record.
“We work on free throws every day in practice,” summed up Patten, who showed little nerves hitting the game-tying and go-ahead freebies. “We knew we had to be aggressive, and everyone stepped up their games.”
It was B-G’s third Midstate Athletic Conference title and fourth overall league championship under 16th-year head coach Bob Conway. Conway said the biggest difference between Saturday’s game and the near-miss at B-G earlier this season was Patten’s presence on the floor. In that game, the senior 1,000-point scorer sat substantial minutes with foul trouble in the second half.
“Every team has its glue,” Conway said. “For Unatego it’s Colleen O’Hara, and for us it is Jennifer. “Whether she is making the pass, scoring or rebounding, she makes us click and dictates what we do.”
O’Hara, just a sophomore, may be he heir apparent to the league’s dominant player with the impending graduations of B-G’s Patten and Harpursville’s Lindsay Kimmel, the two league MVPs this season.
O’Hara hit back-to-back three balls during a 9-0 Unatego run in the third quarter to move her club in front by four. She added a driving layup late in the stanza as the Spartans took a 37-34 lead into the last quarter.
Once in the fourth, the lead was tied or changed hands four times, the last Spartans lead coming on O’Hara’s deep three ball with 2:22 left to up her team’s lead to 44-41. It was the last hoop for Unatego as B-G’s foul shooting precision took over.
Patten drove to the hoop after a Marcie Day steal, and nearly made the basket for a three-point play opportunity. She hit both attempts closing the gap to one.
After an exchange of possessions, Patten again drew a foul setting up two free throws with 27.3 seconds left. She buried both for the advantage.
Unatego worked the clock down on its next possession looking for the go-ahead basket. Six-foot-one senior, Mackensey O’Hara, established inside post position, but missed a short hook shot with six seconds left for the lead. Conway gathered the rebound and wrapped up the contest from the line. O’Hara, an all-division player for the Spartans, was held to a season-low four points.
“This is a game the kids needed to execute, and they realized it was different level of execution we needed to have,” Bob Conway said. “We’re shooting just under 70 percent from the foul line as a team, and we had the right kids at the line at the end of the game.”
B-G (17-2) had 20 points from Patten and Samantha Spalholz added 10. Colleen O’Hara led Unatego with 18 points.
B-G has a first-round bye in the Class C playoffs and will play the winner of Edison and Sidney at home on Feb. 23.
B-G: Sam Spalholz, 5 0-2-10; Mariah Schaeffer, 2 0-0-4; Jen Patten, 6 8-10-20; Liz Holbert, 0 1-2-1; Brittany Fahringer, 0; Nicole Conway, 1 4-4-6; Marcie Day, 3 2-6-8. Totals: 17 15-24-49.
Unatego: Ashley Walke 0 0-0-0, Chelsie Dalton 2 4-4-8, Katya Harris 1 0-0-2, Colleen O’Hara 7 0-1-18, MacKensey O’Hara 2 0-0-4, Blake Shelton 5 2-5-12. Totals: 17 6-10-44.
Unat. 6 16 15 7–44
B-G 14 9 11 15–49
Fouled out: (U) C. O’Hara. Three-point goals: (U) C. O’Hara 4, officials: D. Carey, K. Reynolds.
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