Milford Mirror

Foran defeats Law in OT (girls hoop)

Tuesday, 07 February 2012 13:16

The Foran High girls basketball team defeated Jonathan Law 53-50 in overtime in an Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division matchup at Edna L. Fraser Gymnasium on Saturday night.

With the victory, which came on the Lions’ Senior Night, Foran qualified for both the SCC playoffs and the Class L state tournament.

“I think tonight was a trifecta — at home, playoffs, Law,” said Lion coach Scott Nails, who led his team into the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.

While it was Senior Night for Foran (8-10), it was freshman guard Danielle Kemp who was the difference-maker in overtime.

Kemp sank the only basket of the extra session, an elbow jumper with 2:15 left to play, and also made her presence felt on the defense end by disrupting the passing lanes and drawing a charge on Law standout Kim Legen at the 1:53 mark.

“I said, “Tonight was about the seniors,’” Nails said. “But Dani Kemp took the charge, got a big basket for us, couple of deflections, made a free throw.

“You never know. I told the underclassmen, don’t let down your seniors.”

Jasmine Rodriquez, who along with classmates Maggie Folsom, Alyssa Pucilli and Ashley Fitzgerald were playing in their final regular-season home game, knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:48 left in overtime to give Foran a 50-48 edge.

After a stop on the other end, Kemp came down in transition and buried her jumper to push the Lion lead to 52-48.

Legen drove from the top of the key on the ensuing Eagle possession, barreling into the teeth of the Foran defense while tossing in the shot.

But, instead of a potential three-point play, Legen was called for a charge.

“That could’ve gone either way,” Law coach Heather Borges said.

Kemp then converted the front end of a one-and-one from the foul line, before Nya Ramos answered with a brace of free throws for the Eagles (8-9) to narrow their gap to 53-50 with 45 seconds left.

Neither team scored the rest of the way, as the Lions held on and avenged 55-54 setback to Law at James Richetelli Sr. Gymnasium back on Jan. 12.

“We already have our eight wins, so we’re in our playoffs,” said Borges, whose Eagles punched their tickets to the SCC and Class M playoffs with a win over Branford on Feb. 1.

“We knew that every game on the road was going to be tough. We’re playing everybody on Senior Night.”

Legen scored a team-high 16 points, Sam Murphy chipped in with 12, and Jackie Kochiss added 10 for Law.

Sophomore point guard Teneya McLaughlin led Foran with a career-high 16 points, eight assists and five steals.

Rodriquez notched a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, while Kelly Quinn and Pucilli had eight points apiece.

In the Jan. 12 matchup, Rodriquez put up a line of 25 points and 17 rebounds in the Lions’ loss.

This time around, the Eagles keyed their defense on attempting to neutralize Foran’s senior pivot.

“We’re undersized,” Borges said. “Last time, Jasmine scored 25 points on us. Tonight we held her to 10. I can’t really ask for much more than that.”

Said Nails:

“Heather did a great job with her kids. They did a good job on Jasmine, but other people stepped up and made plays.”

Back-to-back layups by reserve guard Catie Miller staked Law to its largest lead of the second half, 48-43, with 2:48 remaining in regulation.

Quinn responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing on the other end, narrowing the gap to 48-46.

After empty possessions by both teams, McLaughlin swooped into the lane and tied the game with a crafty layup at the 1:02 mark.

Each team then squandered chances at taking the lead, before the Eagles found themselves with the ball with nine seconds left.

Murphy’s runner was off the mark, but the ball went out of the bounds off of the Lions. Legen then drove baseline, but her scoop shot fell short and the game headed into overtime.

“[Law] had three possessions to win it, but the girls hung in there and they fought,” Nails said.

Baskets by Folsom and Rodriquez staked Foran to an 18-11 lead late in the first quarter, before Murphy answered with a driving layup.

Legen opened up the second quarter by canning a 3-pointer, which Pucilli countered with a jumper from beyond the arc at the 5:25 mark.

A short jumper from Miller pulled Law within 21-18, before McLaughlin and Rodriquez scored baskets in the post to push the Lion margin to 25-18.

Legen’s three-point play with 52 seconds left in the second quarter made it 25-21 at the break.

The Eagles outscored Foran 17-11 in the third quarter, sparked by 3-pointers from Legen and Kochiss, to take a 38-36 advantage at the end of the third period.

“They’re fighters,” Borges said of her team. “I don’t know many other teams in the state that’s tallest player is 5-7 that are heading to the playoffs.”

But, the Lions remained resilient in the fourth quarter and prevailed in overtime to qualify for the postseason for the fourth year in a row.

“I don’t know the history, I’ll check on it, but I don’t know how many senior classes can say they made four-for-four,” Nails said.

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