BOURNE – Thanks to overpowering defense and some timely buckets, Bourne is back to the state semifinals for the first time since 1984.
With a 15-2 run in the third and allowing just one field goal in the fourth, No. 4 Bourne had more than enough to take down No. 5 Cohasset 48-34 on Saturday evening in the Div. 4 quarterfinals.
“We wanted this since last year,” senior captain Paige Meda said about making it to the semifinals. “We lost by three (in the quarterfinals) and I’m so glad we did it.”
To start the third, Cohasset (14-10) went up by seven at 24-17 before Bourne (22-2) clamped down with its man defense to close the quarter on a 15-2 run to lead 32-26 before a triple for junior Addy Andrews made it 32-29 at the end of three.
“One of our sayings on our team is that we have three options: ‘defense first, defense second or defense third,’ ” said Bourne coach Stephen Wenzel. “When man (defense) was just kind of working, but teetering, they wanted to bear down and stay with it. When they tell me that’s what they want to do, I know I’m going to get a better effort.”
In the fourth, a mid-range jumper for Andrews cut the deficit to 32-31 before Meda and the man-to-man defense took over to keep the Skippers field goal-less in the final frame during a 16-3 run for the Canalmen.
“Honestly, defense, it’s my favorite part of the game, so I love doing it,” Meda said about taking on the toughest scorer each contest. “I think defense turns to offense. So, as long as you can get a stop, then you’re going on offense the other way.”
Meda led all scorers with 18 points, including 13 in the second half. Junior Raeghan Blake finished with 13 of her 15 points in the second half as well as 11 rebounds.
“Paige (Meda) is the best player around,” said Wenzel. “Pound for pound is the best player around. … When (the game) is on the line, that ball is going to be in her hands.”
For Cohasset, Molly Campbell led with 13 points.
In the first quarter, Cohasset came out strong on defense as it forced 10 turnovers and allowed Bourne to shoot just 1-of-9 from the field en route to a 10-2 advantage after one.
The Canalmen did not back down and cut the deficit to two a few times to make it as close as 14-12 before the Skippers scored five straight to go up 19-12. Senior captain McKinley Wenzel netted a three-pointer for Bourne right before the halftime buzzer to make it a 19-15 hole at the break.
“Having that to close the gap helped a lot,” said Meda about the triple to end the first half. “We just had to keep doing what we were doing and try to push as much as possible. We had nothing to lose at that point.”
Bourne will play against top-seeded and two-time defending champion Cathedral at a site and date to be determined.