RallyNorth.net

North champs met their match against similar Skippers

Tuesday, March, 11 By Matt Langone
Sports editor

The Division 4 state tournament had presented its share of challenges to the Manchester Essex girls basketball team. But none had been too difficult to overcome.

That was the case until yesterday, when a bit of irony ultimately doomed the North champion Hornets in the Division 4 state title game at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden against South champ Cohasset.

With an offense that thrives on the drive-and-dish principle and an aggressive full-court, man-to-man defense, Manchester Essex had been able to conquer all comers in the state tourney. The opponent's style of play didn't matter, because at the end of the day the Hornets would impose their will and dictate the tempo.

However, the Hornets finally met their postseason match against a Skippers squad that appeared to be their mirror image.

Both teams applied full-court pressure, both teams tried to get the ball inside as much as possible and both teams couldn't buy a shot from the perimeter. But in the end, Cohasset's 16 for 45 overall shooting combined with 13 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot-1 center Sammi Lehr, proved to be just enough for the Skippers to pick up a 44-36 overtime win and earn state supremacy.

"I didn't expect an overtime, but I did expect a really tough ball game," said Cohasset head coach John LeVangie, who also coached BC High to the state championship game in 1981 but lost. "The offenses were so similar that I couldn't tell which one was ours. We both tried to get the ball down low and we had the same styles. The difference in the game was really one or two turnovers. It was pretty even."

Manchester Essex (16-9) third-year head coach Lauren Dubois agreed that Cohasset resembled her squad.

"I think they were definitely similar to us," said Dubois. "(Cohasset) did a great job of working the ball inside, and I think our post players did a great job defensively inside. We tried to attack the basket the same way."

The reality is that Manchester Essex's style was probably a little more effective. But the Hornets were ice cold from the floor, especially early on in the game when the Hornets missed some easy ones, probably due to jitters from playing on the parquet.

Aside from freshman point guard Lizzy Ball (15 points, five rebounds) and junior forward Jen Bishop (eight points, six rebounds), the Hornets couldn't muster up any consistent offense. As a team, the Hornets were 14 for 66 shooting and were still in the game, which is a tribute to their defensive play and perseverance. Feeling the brunt of those shooting woes was star center Dani Ciccone (five points, eight rebounds). The senior captain had registered double-doubles in the four previous tourney games but was bothered by double-teams all game from Cohasset's sister centers, Sammi and Tori Lehr (6-foot-2).

"We've had a rough shooting week," said Dubois, whose team defeated Mt. Alvernia in the North final last Friday, despite poor shooting. "To overcome that and stay in games really shows how hard the girls work. They just don't get discouraged."

The final rebounding totals further display how evenly matched these teams were. The Hornets and Skippers both totaled 32 boards each and the free-throw shooting was also nearly even with neither team being incredibly efficient | Manchester Essex shot 57 percent (8 for 14) and Cohasset shot 63 percent (12 for 19).

A Ciccone layup off a gorgeous Ball feed with 6.7 seconds left in the game tied it at 33-33 and sent the contest to overtime. Something had to give in the extra frame between these two clones.

"Coach just told us to make our passes and concentrate on what we need to do," said Cohasset sophomore forward Meredith Kelly in reference to LeVangie's advice heading into OT. "He told us to leave it all out there."

Pretty much your typical motivational speech. Nevertheless, it was indeed enough to push the Skippers to victory, as Cohasset outscored Manchester Essex 11-3 in overtime after the Hornets scored the first point in the frame.

As we found out, it took a Manchester Essex-caliber team to beat Manchester Essex, and there is no shame in losing like that.

"Everyone was emotional after the game because they worked so hard and really wanted this," said Dubois. "But I told the girls to remember how great it was to get here. I can't ask for much more than what they gave."

Additional stories:

• Hornets run out of magic in OT
• Dubois a determined leader for Manchester Essex