The Tigers of the Convent of the Sacred Heart may not suffer a loss as tough as Monday’s 63-57 double-overtime nail biter against Greens Farms Academy for the rest of their regular season.
But head coach Jessica Spicer wants to make sure her team is ready for the occasion should the situation rise again this year.
“I was really proud of our effort,” Spicer said following the game. “You can’t fault them for that.”
Trailing the Dragons by a score of 47-38 with less than five minutes to go, CSH went on a 11-2 run to close out regulation and force overtime, thanks to full-court pressure on defense and strong rebounding by captain Grace Passannante.
In the first overtime period, it was the Dragons with a quick 4-0 spurt but after fighting back again, the Tigers ended the extra session with a game-tying three pointer from senior Brooke Wilkens.
Double overtime was decided at the free throw line, where the Tigers couldn’t connect in the late trips to the charity stripe and fell 63-57.
“We came back from nine points down to bring the game all the way into double overtime and to continue to have the energy and effort to do that is awesome,” Spicer said. “I thought we fought through a lot of things that we’ve been working on. It came down to free throws at the end. We missed some and they made some and that’s something to work on.”
Passannante finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in a game where her coach said she needed her the most.
“I told her before the game, we need a great game from her and she absolutely delivered.”
The senior captain came up with a crucial offensive rebound off a missed free throw in the final minute of regulation and scored the team’s final four points in the comeback effort — also fueled by a key block from Claire Liddy.
Kristen Davis scored 15 points and grabbed five boards while Erin Cleary finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists for the Tigers.
The loss, Spicer says, hopes to serve as a teachable moment about the importance of not only free throws, but the importance of continuing to fight.
“I want to see them continue to improve,” Spicer said. “We’re such a young team that every game is a learning experience and our seniors are showing excellent leadership. I can honestly say that every FAA game we’ve played so far, we’ve gotten better.”
Sitting at 4-7 overall and winless in FAA conference play, assistant coach Tevin Baskin commends his team for their impressive performance on Monday and what is in store for the future of the team.
“To take one of the top teams in the FAA to double overtime shows the potential we have when we put it all together,” Baskin said. “It was just the little things tonight. We’re a better team than we were back in December and things are falling into place. They could easily hang their heads, but they’ll be back at it in practice tomorrow.”
