Intensity, Efficiency Key OFA's Thrilling State Win
POTSDAM - OFA senior guard Megan Morrison said she had never played in a game where the defense on both sides was so intense.
OFA Coach Mark Henry called Morrison's 27-point performance one of the most efficient scoring efforts he had ever seen. The Devils' ability to play intense defense for the entire 32 minutes and Morrison's ability to make key offensive plays for the entire 32 minutes carried OFA (15-8) to a remarkable 46-44 win over 17-5 Saranac Central of Section 7 in the Class B regional semi-finals of the New York Girls Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night at SUNY Potsdam.
"Our defense was very strong tonight. We did a good job going from a 1-3-1 to a 2-3 to stop their three-pointers," said OFA guard Chelsea Martin (3 steals) who played her way through constant foul trouble to contribute to a defensive effort which limited Saranac to 17-52 shooting and four points in the fourth quarter.
"I get in foul trouble sometimes but I haven't fouled out yet. I was a little cautious but I always want to stay aggressive."
Both teams aggressively coped with foul trouble in the contest which featured a crunch time where every looseball, every rebound, every tie-up and every instance where the ball was protected against a double-team turned in a very significant play.
The game climaxed in fitting fashion for the Devils after the Chiefs' Katie McCasland controlled pass from outside of halfcourt from Becca Horton and converted a layup to tie the score at 44-44 with 7.2 seconds to play. A layup which answered a two-point lead created by a Lindsay Drummond free throw with 13 seconds to play.
After the Lady Chiefs came extremely close to an overplaying steal, Morrison raced downcourt and was fouled on a pull-up jumper with 4/10ths of a second to play.
"This was such a great game and I was so happy that I had a chance to take a shot like that at the end," said Morrison who cooly sank the two ensuing foul shots which lifted the Devils into a Regional Championship game against Watervliet, a 31-27 winner over Mechanicville in the Section 2 finals, on Saturday at noon at Hudson Valley Community College. The winner returns to Hudson Valley the following weekend to play in the New York State Final Four.
"Mackenzie Cole was all over the boards and everyone on our team was just making big plays. It was so amazing."
Morrison's decisive free throws completed a 9-11 night at the foul line, 8-11 shooting from the floor, 2-3 three-point shooting, several daring drives through heavy traffic in the lane, a 19-point first half, three assists, three steals and one huge tie-up late in the game against Saranac Central center Stephanie Linder under the basket with the possession arrow favoring the Devils.
Cole finished with a nine-points on 4/8 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds for the Devils.
"Megan Morrison came through with an extremely efficient 27-point effort. It was a great win which was so hard to describe because everybody came up key little plays. We had to make adjustments because of foul trouble," said OFA Coach Mark Henry after the Devils rallied from a 40-37 deficit and then came up with a series of defensive stops at clutch time.
"And our bench gave us a lift. Nichole Damms goes in at the end of the first half, gets a rebound which led to Megan (Morrison) hitting a three-pointer. Rosie Giglio (5 rebounds) gave us some big rebounds and hit a shot which will really needed in the third quarter."
A third quarter where the Chiefs collapsed their man-to-man around Morrison and took a 40-35 margin led by Mychelle Favreau (8 rebounds, 2-4 3-point shooting) who scored seven of her 14 points in the quarter. Explosive guard Megan Bowman tallied eight points and passed out four assists, Stephanie Linder grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored six points and McCasland finished with seven points on 3/4 shooting for the Chiefs (17-5).
"Saranac is a very good team and Megan Bowman is the real deal," said Morrison who anchored a 14-32 shooting night for the Devils.
