By Sam MacGilpin
@Sam_MacGilpin
In what was a game of runs, and too many runs, according to head coach Naomi Graves, the Springfield College women’s basketball team took their first conference loss of the season against Coast Guard Academy, losing 51-48 Wednesday night.
“I think we have to just be consistent,” Graves said. “We played in runs. We didn’t stop them, but at the same time, we did. We have to mix some defenses, but we must also be consistent on both ends of the floor.”
Guard Amanda Leary opened up scoring for the Pride as she euro stepped around the Coast Guard defender for a tough layup. The Pride would go on to struggle mightily from the field, but a bucket from Center Lindsey Laughlan and a last-second pull-up jumper from forward Angela Czeremcha helped cut the first-quarter deficit to 13-10.
Czeremcha, the team leader in points (14.3) and rebounds (11.5) , played well early, scoring four points and grabbing eight rebounds in a close, low-scoring first.
“She (Czeremcha) is physically strong and mentally tough,” Graves said. “She’s having a great season. Angie is going to be on the glass as much as possible, and she can get the ball out quickly down the court.”
They continued with the momentum they had, going on a 9-2 run to start in the second quarter, leading by four and sounded off by a couple of layups by first-year guard Claire Finney.
But, their lead started to slip away.
Multiple threes by Coast Guard had the Bears up 27-24, and then soon enough, a crucial foul was called on Czeremcha, which Bears guard Julia Mann drew on a deep three with time expiring, that left the Pride fans unhappy with the call. Still, Graves agreed with the call and smiled as she acknowledged that Czeremcha left her feet while contesting the shot.
Mann would make all three free throws to extend CGA’s lead to six at the half.
The momentum continued to sway in Coast Guard’s direction to enter the second half – prompting Graves to call an early timeout.
She got her message across loud and clear, as the Pride responded with a 9-0 run after a quick Coast Guard basket to tie up the game at 39 apiece entering the fourth.
The Pride held the Bears scoreless the last four and a half minutes of the third quarter, and deja vu came into play when Czeremcha hit another last-second shot to add to her 14-point, 15-rebound contest.
Although Coast Guard was held scoreless for some time, they ultimately returned the favor and shut down Springfield for the first 6:09 of the fourth quarter until Czeremcha hit a free throw to end Bear’s 11-0 run.
“I thought the difference was we were stuck in the half-court a little bit too much, Because we felt we needed to take care of our possessions,” Graves said. “We were shooting too quickly on the open floor. We missed open layups and shots.”
With three minutes left the Pride found themselves down double-digits, but they didn’t let the Bears pull away. The Pride proceeded to go on an 8-0 run with 3-pointers from Finney and guard Stefany Padula as Coast Guard’s lead was cut to two.
Finney had an efficient eight-point night on 3-5 from the field.
Coast Guard went 1-2 at the line, and the Pride had a chance to tie, but Laughlan’s 3-pointer fell short, and a scrum for the rebound saw the clock wind to triple zero.
“I think the key to turning this around is lots of little things, right? Making a couple of layups and having a couple of extra stops. One more pass. There’s a lot of different things, but possessions matter.” Graves said.
The Pride are now 1-1 in NEWMAC play and look to get back into the winning column as they face Wellesley on Jan. 20 in Blake Arena.
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics