Drury bedevils Millionaires at charity stripe in victory

NORTH ADAMS – Drury got the best of the Millionaires Monday night in a 50-41 win over Lenox thanks to Danielle Rachette’s 14 points and her seven free throws in the final minute.

“They went to the free throw line 14 times in the first half – we got only three fouls against them, which was tough,” said Lenox Head Coach Nicole Patella.

While Drury was garnering the favor of the official’s whistles, the Millionaires struggled to convert under the basket, as the Blue Devils knocked down outside shots.

“We didn’t shoot well up here at all,” said Patella. “You can’t miss bunnies against a good team.”

Lenox was able to stay with Drury 10-8 in the first quarter thanks to Liz Mitts, who scored six of her seven points in the first frame.

The Blue Devils turned up the heat in the second, however.

Drury punished the Millionaires in the second thanks to senior Shannon Garvey, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half, off mainly corner jump shots from the penetrating Rachette.

Rachette, who was held to one basket all night, contributed with 12 free throws and numerous assists despite being guarded well by Lenox’s Jaclyn Gigliotti.

“I put Gigliotti on her, and she shut her penetration down a bit,” Patella said. “Garvey killed us in the first half with those jumpers.”

The Blue Devils held a 26-14 lead at the half, while Lenox battled back in the third quarter as they usually do.

Bailey Fielding hit a jumper from the wing to start off the third. The Millionaires closed the third with a 8-2 run, thanks to Hayden Zinchuk (16 points, 14 boards) and Gigliotti (seven points) to cut the deficit to 31-24 after three.

Zinchuk opened the fourth with a steal and a coast-to-coast lay-up to cut the lead to five before Drury went on a 10-5 run with 3:43 left in the game.

“We gave up too many lay-ups on that press, and they shoot real well in their own gym – and we can’t give them open looks like we did,” said Patella.

Zinchuk continued to work the boards in the final minutes as she was able to get to the line with 1:33 left to cut the lead to 41-33.

However, Rachette would routinely take the inbounds pass and break the Lenox press herself, getting to the line eight times in the final 1:25, where she shot seven-for-eight to seal the game.

“At the end of the game [Rachette] is going to make those, but we didn’t have a choice [but to foul her],” Patella said.

The loss pushes the Millionaires back to 8-7 overall and only two wins away from clinching a post-season berth.

Next week, the Millionaires take on St. Joseph, Taconic and Mt. Everett, a schedule that favors the Millionaires heading into the final turn of the season.

“We want to get in the tournament and do well – we want to make (some easy shots) – and make sure we get into our press, that is what we do – press,” Patella said.

Posted by Tim Davis on February 6, 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