Lady Cougars Punch Their Ticket To the AAC Finals
Dateline – Alpharetta, Ga: An old adage states “nothing good ever comes easily,” a proverb that found apt application in this evening’s semi-final matchup between the second ranked Lady Cougars and the third seeded Lady Mustangs of MSA. Inspired by AAS in their tight game against the top ranked Howard Hawks, buoyed by an animated home town crowd, and itching to avenge their two regular season defeats, the green clad ‘stangs laid an ambush for the visitors.
MSA struck first, as standout center Jones followed an offensive rebound to break the ice early. Another quick bucket, followed by a second Jones score from deep in the paint allowed the upset minded home towners to grab quick lead. At last shaking off the offensive cobwebs, senior Alyssa Briggs received a pass from ninth grade center Natalie Taylor to get her team into the scoring column. A Briggs steal soon converted into a basket, and in a following possession, Briggs canned one of two free throws. The Cougar Nation began to relax just a little bit, only to experience another body blow delivered by MSA, courtesy of a Richer three point dagger. MSA tossed in three more points to take a 12 – 5 lead. Desperate to stop the bleeding, eighth grade guard Gabby Pressnall took matters into her own hands, drawing a foul as she drove with purpose into the lane. Shortly after converting a Pressnall free throw, Cottage again turned to their youth movement as the “One Armed Bandit” Grace Workman threw all caution to the wind, attacked the basket with her one good arm, and connected on a circus shot. The first quarter ended with the underdogs holding a 12 – 8 lead.
Now sufficiently slapped across the face, Cottage revved up the press and opened the throttle on offense. The result, a big twenty-point quarter, while only giving up a miserly 6 points to MSA. Briggs set the tone early when she splashed home 3 of 4 free throws. She also scored on another grab and go, and added another driving bucket to the team total. But in this quarter junior Finley Love assumed the role of bombardier extraordinaire, as she lit up the scoreboard for 11 points, including an electrifying trifecta on a pretty assist from seventh grader Bonnie Bolton-Hogg.
The second half saw Cottage commit to a more deliberate offensive approach to work the clock to a greater degree. The defense remained staunch, but around the four-minute mark Briggs went down behind the MSA baseline, apparently tweaking her ankle. The gym held its collective breath, as Briggs shuffled to the bench. With their number one offensive threat retired from the hardwoods everyone understood that others would need to step up. Responding to the challenge Bolton-Hogg quickly splashed home two mid-range jumpers (assisted by backcourt mate Sara Tolchinsky and Love). Pressnall also added another score to extend the Cottage lead by five more points.
In the final quarter the Lady Mustangs put on a mini-run of their own, and outscored TCS by 4 points over the last eight minutes. Largely working without Briggs, shots did not fall easily for Cottage, but they continued to apply the needed pressure to still generate turnovers, and prevented MSA from opening the offensive floodgates. Briggs did re-surface on the court for a few fourth quarter minutes, but Bolton-Hogg, Love, and Malia Richards carried the scoring load as the clock wound down to zero, revealing a 42 – 31 TCS victory, and ticket to the big stage on Wednesday night against Howard.
GAME NOTES
Grace Workman and Bonnie Bolton-Hogg provided relief for the guard position. Somewhat hobbled by the arm injury, Workman still squeezed off two points, grabbed an offensive board, and applied her obligatory pesky defense, as evidenced by her 3 steals. Bolton-Hogg stepped up to the moment by kicking in 6 points during the second half. She also recorded 1 offensive ‘bound, 1 assist, and 4 steals.
Kendall Betzer, Eleanor Gaffneystone, and Malia Richards shuttled to whatever defensive assignment seemed most pertinent in the moment, but most often on MSA center Jones. Richards earned a trip to the charity stripe where she drained a fourth quarter free throw. Gaffneystone bodied up on her foe, and bounced like a pinball to prevent MSA from advancing the ball with efficiency. Betzer often played deep on defense, holding down the “last line” of defense while also wearing down Jones. Betzer gained 1 offensive rebound, and swiped a ball for a steal.
Starting center Natalie Taylor passed for an assist, received a number of touches in the paint, claimed 2 steals, and boxed her way to 5 rebounds (4 offensive).
Sara Tolchinsky and Gabby Pressnall shared backcourt starting duties. Tolchinsky nabbed 4 offensive rebounds, poked away 4 steals, threaded the needle for an assist, and scored on a bucket assisted by Briggs. Pressnall added 3 points, dished for 2 assists, chased down 3 rebounds (1 offensive) and jammed the MSA attack with 12 steals.
Finely Love poured in 13 points during the game, largely on the strength of her timely second quarter explosion. Love also hit the “double-double” status as she hauled in 11 rebounds (7 offensive), to go along with 2 assists, and 7 seals.
Alyssia Briggs led the way with a game high 15 points, and a “double-double” with 12 steals. She also pitched for 3 assists, and fought her way to 9 rebounds (2 offensive).