Krause: Rudolph, Mucciarone, Sanders secure their place as a terrific trio

WORCESTER – They came in together … they were part of a state championship as freshmen, when they weren?t the Big Three … and now they?re ending their St. Mary?s careers as their own troika.So it was fitting that as Saturday?s Division 3 state championship game wound down, Brianna Rudolph, Jennie Mucciarone and Sharell Sanders exited the court together one last time.?After everything we?ve been through in the last four years, we bonded,” said Mucciarone of her two senior teammates after they dispatched Hoosac Valley, 74-36, to win their second championship in four years.?Having two state championships as bookends … that?s what everyone hopes for,” she said. “But everything we?ve been through in four years led up to this. It?s awesome.”It?s not fair to say that any of the three went along for the ride when they won four years ago. Rudolph and Mucciarone were the other two starters — as freshmen — when the original Big Three (Tori Faieta, Cassi Amenta and Kirsten Ferrari) — carried the team to its title, its first in Division Three and second in 10 years (the Spartans won in Division 4 in 2001). But the pressure wasn?t on them the way it was Saturday.?As a freshman, we played, but we had three awesome players,” said Sanders, who scored 13 points Saturday. “This time it was different. I definitely felt (the pressure) this time.”With the next wave duly indoctrinated into the Spartan way, it looked as if they were well set up for the next three years. Only things didn?t go as planned.Early in her sophomore season, Rudolph broke her leg. And even though she came back late in the season and played in the tournament, she wasn?t sharp and St. Mary?s lost early in the 2012 tournament.A year later, St. Mary?s looked primed to make another run. But most everyone involved with the Spartans freely admitted that they took their foot off the throttle in the North semifinal against Watertown — and ended up being upset by the Raiders.?I was sick to my stomach for a whole year over that,” said Rudolph, who poured in 26 points Saturday after scoring 31 against Williams in the state semifinal.And so it came to halftime Saturday with the Spartans out in front 34-17. Coach Jeff Newhall wanted to impress upon his troops that this was no time to take the foot off the throttle again. If there was any time to take the court with a renewed sense of urgency, it was for the final 16 minutes.He needn?t have worried.?This was our last game,” said Mucciarone. “We weren?t going to let up. No way.”Even the underclassmen got swept along in the senior intensity. Sophomore Gianna Moschella had the game of her fledgling high school career, scoring 14 points — 10 in the third quarter — as the Spartans simply blew the Hurricanes badly off course.?All I wanted,” she said, “was to see these guys go out with a win. I didn?t want them to go this far and not win.”