Monument gets big win at Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase

GREAT BARRINGTON – The Lady Spartans hoop team has had an emotional up-and-down season so far this year. They have battled injuries and suspensions in order to get back into the post-season hunt.

Last Saturday was one of those upward swings as they beat Taconic easily, 63-48.

The Spartans knocked down an unprecedented nine three-pointers in order to beat the Braves, and their inside game featured standout Nyanna Slaughter, who had 22 points.

“We shot the ball well, but we need to trust the offense a little bit more,” said Monument Head Coach Chris Unsworth. “We were moving the ball pretty well – they were packing it in and that left our shooters open.”

Monument’s Kayla Aberdale (14 points) and Vanessa Troiano (15 points) both had three three-pointers each, while Heather Hassett (five points), Haley Korte (four points) and Samantha White (seven points) each added one.

White hit her three on the wing at the end of the first quarter to put her team up 10-5.

Korte hit her three to put Monument up 24-15 with 3:05 left in the second as the Lady Spartans battled foul trouble.

Iolani DeRis, Alexa Najaime (four points) and Ashley Harrington (two points) got some important first-half minutes to help the Spartans build a 32-19 halftime lead.

“I want to talk about that second unit that came in at the end of the half,” Unsworth proclaimed. “The way that they battled was the difference – as far as the energy they had – they have been working hard in our practice sessions.”

Taconic’s Angela O’Neil (18 points) hit a tough drive to cut the Monument lead to 37-25, as Slaughter followed up her score with a bucket underneath to make it a 37-27 game with 5:53 left in the third, forcing Unsworth to call a timeout.

Unsworth set up his defensive strategy to slow down Slaughter as Troiano went on a scoring spree, scoring seven points in the next three minutes to put the Spartans up 44-29.

“In the second half, Hunter [Cormier] got in front [of Slaughter], and Heather [Hassett] got some steals,” Unsworth said. “That was the game-changing event where we got some shots and some threes based on how Hunter defended on the low post.”

Hassett hit a long three from the wing to start the fourth quarter to put the Spartans up 53-34. Then point guard Hannah Rolf drove the lane and kicked out to White, who hit a jumper from the corner to seal the win, putting Monument up 55-34.

The Taconic win put the Spartans at 5-5 halfway through the season, needing to win five of their remaining 10 games in order to make the post-season.

“We got Hoosac, Drury and Lenox next week – so no easy games there,” Unsworth said.

On Tuesday night, Monument lost their game to Hoosac, 46-38, as they were only able to knock down three three-pointers. White lead the Monument scorers with 15, while Hoosac’s Emily Rosse had 23 points.

“Everyone needs to hang in there and stay together,” said Unsworth. “We need to stay out of foul trouble and defend with our feet.”

Posted by Tim Davis on January 24, 2013. Filed under High School Sports,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry