HYANNIS — Never underestimate the value of free throws.
In a battle last night between sister schools Sturgis East and Sturgis West, East hit five fourth quarter freebies to take home the win, 42-37. It was East’s (1-4) first win of the season and it was led by senior captain Meaghan Fitzgerald who poured in 24 points and tore down 12 rebounds in a brilliant double-double performance.
Sturgis East point guard Caroline Sullivan races to the basket as Sturgis West’s Maggie Farley and Rachel Gardner try to stop her in last night’s 42-37 win for the East.
Sean Walsh.capecod.com sports
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Fitzgerald had 12 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter. She went 2-3 from the line in the fourth quarter and 4-7 from the stripe throughout the game.
West’s Shannon Crowley led the Navigators with 13 points, had three steals and went 4-8 from the free throw line. West point guard Maggie Farley turned nine points, had five rebounds and three steals as well.
Sturgis West earned every point it scrapped and clawed for in this thrilling affair, as the Navigators came back from a 21-12 halftime deficit to twice come within one point of rival Sturgis East in the fourth quarter. It was Farley and Crowley who breathed fire into the West squad as precious minutes flew off the fourth quarter game clock. Down 29-24, Farley rained a deep outside three-pointer to make it 29-27 and from that point forward it was all touch and go.
It was Crowley, though, who would hit three straight free throws to bring the score to 33-32 with just 3:22 left in the game, forcing East head coach Ted Pappas to call time out.
The time-out for East worked as the Storm offense moved the ball around the perimeter until Emma Nemes found Fitzgerald underneath who laid it in to make it 35-32.
Farley then took matters into her own hands and battled for an offensive rebound on the other end, got it, and laid it in to make it 35-34. Nemes and Issy Roberge hit critical free throws in the game’s waning seconds to help solidify the win but it was Fitzgerald’s final put-back that made it 42-37 to keep the comeback out of range given the time left.
“When I looked up at the scoreboard I was sort of surprised how close it was because I thought we were on a run, but they (West) came back and they were resilient,” Pappas said. “The backdoor was killing us and we weren’t switching and they were able to get some easy shots and a lot of shots didn’t drop for us.”
Ultimately, it was Sturgis East’s depth beneath the glass that helped keep the Navigators at bay with Fitzgerald, Nemes, Roberge, Jill Doyle and Arianna Jackson. Jackson had a key free throw in the fourth quarter that added to the slight edge the Storm was able to maintain.
Sturgis East’s Meaghan Fitzgerald poured in 24 points and had 12 rebounds in her team’s 42-37 win over Sturgis West last night in Hyannis.
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The Navigators’ Becca Rowe, one of West’s tallest players, got into early foul trouble and did not see much action until the game’s final two minutes, leaving the diminutive but scrappy Farley to battle for most of the boards, as well as May Sullivan off the bench who turned in a solid third quarter with a bucket, three rebounds and a steal.
“We’re lucky because we have some depth on the low block… their big girl got into foul trouble and he (Al Pagenkopf) took her out,” Pappas said. “A win is a win is a win.”
Even though Pappas said he has been happy with his team’s effort in three out of the four losses to start the season, there was some vast improvement last night. The Storm reduced its turnovers dramatically, even when West implemented a full court press in the second quarter. East was able to break the press and its ball movement to find the open man or open shot – inside and outside – made it seem almost like a different East team on the floor last night.
“We did an interesting drill the other night where you’re not allowed to dribble. You have to pass the ball and it forces you to look up and communicate,” Pappas said.
As a side note, Fitzgerald’s 24 points brought her that much closer to the vaunted 1,000-career points milestone. She remains about 165 points shy of that mark.
East next faces Cape Cod Tech on the road on Tuesday (Jan. 13) at 5:30 pm. West plays South Shore Christian Academy today at 4:00 pm at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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