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Hornets are going to the Garden on Tuesday

Friday, March, 07 By Rich Slate
Staff writer

What are you doing at 2:30 p.m. this Tuesday?

If you're the Manchester Essex girls basketball team, you're going to the TD Banknorth Garden to play in the Division 4 state championship game.

The No. 9 Hornets (16-8) advanced thanks to a heart-stopping 59-56 overtime win over No. 3 Mt. Alvernia (20-5) in front of a standing-room only crowd at Salem State's O'Keefe Center. They'll now meet the South winner | Millis/Cohasset | for the state title. Manchester Essex has won seven in a row and 10 of its last 11 games.

"I don't know what to say, I'm just so proud of them," said Manchester Essex head coach Lauren Dubois afterwards. "They deserve it. They believed in themselves the whole game and that's what matters. It's amazing to see how far they've come. They play so well as a team."

Manchester Essex was once again led by its potent inside-outside combination of freshman guard Lizzy Ball (20 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals) and senior center Dani Ciccone (22 points, 19 rebounds). Said Dubois about her dynamic duo, "those two stepped it up, they made their free throws at the end. There was a lot of pressure and they put them in. They also made the right decisions when it mattered."

The unsung hero of the game and for this whole magical tourney run (four wins) was junior forward Elsa Keefe, who posted 13 points and 11 rebounds. Keefe scored nine of the Hornets 16 points in the fourth quarter, each point more vital than the last.

"I felt like they lost track of me and I kept making my shots in the fourth," Keefe said.

The Mustangs were paced by superb senior guard Michelle DeRoma, who was simply unstoppable with a game-high 27 points and 25 rebounds. After only scoring eight points through the first three quarters, she had 12 in the fourth and all seven of Mt. Alvernia's points in the extra session. Mt. Alvernia senior point guard Olivia Joyce (13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) was the other star but she fouled out with 1:01 left in overtime, sealing her team's fate.

Facing a Mt. Alvernia squad that featured six seniors (including four starters), the Hornets (three seniors, one who starts) came out tentative as the Mustangs 2-3 zone gave them fits offensively. Mt. Alvernia led 14-8 after the first quarter.

The Hornets played great defense in the first half but couldn't finish on the other end. They shot 6 of 32 from the field for the half, as the Mustangs took a 22-17 lead into halftime. DeRoma's shot was off in the beginning but she was a force in the first half on the boards as she had seven points and 11 rebounds. Ball led the Hornets with eight and Ciccone was the next highest-scorer with three.

Dubois must have stressed taking it to the basket during the break as the Hornets totally switched their game-plan in the second half. When asked what her coach told the team at the half, Ball replied: "to play our game, we weren't doing that in the first half."

On the floor that translated to rather than sitting back and settling for tough jumpers, Manchester Essex started to go to the hoop with authority. As a result, they outscored Mt. Alvernia 16-11 in the quarter and entered the fourth tied at 33. Even after picking up her third foul, Ciccone continued her tournament trend of heating up in the third quarter as she scored nine.

The fourth had myriad momentum swings and important plays. DeRoma couldn't miss in the fourth as she hit three 3-pointers, including one that put the Mustangs up 47-41. Keefe went on a 5-0 burst herself, including a rebound and put-back of a free-throw miss. Mt. Alvernia took a 49-48 lead with under a minute left but couldn't hold on as the Hornets forced a 24-second violation.

However, Manchester Essex didn't take advantage as they lost the ball and Mt. Alvernia gained possession. In one of the key plays of the game, the Hornets tied up DeRoma after the next inbounds pass to regain it. From there, they worked it inside to Ciccone, who was fouled with 6.4 seconds left.

After missing the first, she nailed the second to tie it at 49. The Mustangs couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer.

The overtime session fittingly belonged to Ball (5 points) and Ciccone (5 points), who teamed up to score all 10 in the frame. Ball had an extremely tough night at the free-throw line (6 of 20) but she made three of her last five down the stretch in the fourth and overtime. Mt. Alvernia saw two players foul out in overtime: senior center Mary O'Donnell and Joyce.

Manchester Essex jumped ahead right away, grabbing a commanding 56-51 lead with 1:46 left. A DeRoma 3-pointer cut it to two (58-56) but Ball made 1 of 2 from the line to ice it.

Amidst a sea of celebrating fans and parents, Ciccone was almost speechless. "It feels so amazing, I can't even believe it. It showed everyone that this team has worked so hard over the last few months."

Keefe saluted Ciccone, who has had an unbelievable postseason with four straight double-doubles. "I love her, I'm so happy for her being a senior and we're going to the Garden."

Dubois noted, "Dani wants this more than anybody wants this. DeRoma is a fantastic basketball player. (Junior forward) Jen Bishop (9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) was guarding her and she did a fine job but DeRoma still found ways to get open.

The whole game was back and forth, that was a great team. We battled back and showed tremendous heart. The girls really believe in themselves."

Additional stories:

• Mt. Alvernia can't handle Manchester-Essex trio
• Gritty Hornets make good on goal, headed to Garden