LYNN — For the second year in a row, St. Mary’s found the final seconds of the Spartan Classic final to its liking.
Down by a point with :02 left, Jillian Roberts came off the left baseline and around a double screen to bank home a shot from the right baseline at the horn to give the Spartans a thrilling 50-49 win over Oliver Ames.
Roberts taking the final shot might have been a surprise to all those inside the Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium, but St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall knew Roberts might get that chance.
“We knew that we had to use Bella (Owumi) as a screener because as good as she is, in that situation, the other team is too good to let her beat them,” Newhall said. “And Jillian can really attack the hoop well.”
It felt most of the night like a close finish was going to be the result as both teams battled tooth and nail. But when Reese Matela scored on a layup with just over a minute to go to give St. Mary’s a 48-43 lead, it looked like the hosts were going to escape.
Someone forgot to tell that to Oliver Ames sharpshooter Avery Gamble though. The sophomore buried a three from the right corner with :51 left to cut the lead to two.
On the next possession, Owumi’s layup attempt rolled all around the iron before falling off. The Tigers looked for the tying basket as the clock ran down and with the shot clock about to expire, Gamble knocked down a cold-blooded three to give her team the lead with five seconds left.
Oliver Ames had fouls to give and did with two seconds left, setting up the dramatic final play.
“The last couple of games are why we play in this tournament,” Newhall said. “To beat a good Dartmouth team by two and then to beat a team like Oliver Ames will help us in the long run.”
In the prior game, Pentucket completed a spectacular 20-1 regular season but putting the shackles on Whitman-Hanson over the final 13 minutes of play.
Trailing 28-21 with 5:04 left in the third quarter, Pentucket put on the afterburners by outscoring the Panthers 32-9 the rest of the way to take a 53-37 win.
“We were able to get the tempo where we wanted in the second half,” Pentucket coach John McNamara said.
The game was tied at 21 at halftime but W-H scored the first seven points of the third quarter and looked ready to break things open.
Back-to-back baskets from sophomore Amelia Crowe began to turn the tide before Gabby Bellacqua scored four straight to give the Panthers the lead for good.
Pentucket’s run eventually reached 18 unanswered points to give them a 39-28 lead. Jenna Mishou, who had 15 points off the bench for Whitman-Hanson, momentarily stopped the spurt but Pentucket put the hammer down and pulled away from there.
In the first final of the day, Malden Catholic defeated Fontbonne, 54-48. Maya Joseph led the way for the Lancers with 12 points, while Chloe O’Brien added 11.
