LYNN — There were 15.2 seconds on the clock when the Spartans’ Bella Owumi claimed the rebound after a missed Dracut free throw. Owumi passed the ball to senior guard Yirsy Queliz who dribbled through the Dracut defense and took a layup with her right hand.
The crowd at St. Mary’s High roared as the ball went up and in with just seconds remaining to make things 73-72 – the eventual final score.
“I saw the green line, so obviously I’m going to take it,” Queliz said after her game-winning layup.
Dracut had one more opportunity to try and win it, but the go-ahead shot fell short as the buzzer sounded. That was all she wrote, and the Spartans were crowned tournament champions.
“It doesn’t matter if it was the first minute or the last 20 seconds. The idea was to get the ball out of the hoop and up the court as quickly as possible,” St. Mary’s head coach Jeff Newhall said.
Before Queliz’s game-winner, there was a sequence a few possessions earlier that kept St. Mary’s in the game, courtesy of tournament MVP Kellyn Preira.
With 35 seconds remaining, she drilled a corner three to put the Spartans up two points.
“We ran the play that Newhall drew up during the timeout, and after the play, I was wide open and that is usually where I shoot from,” Preira said.
Dracut’s Ashlee Talbot, who scorched the Spartans for a career-high 46 points, got the ball and dribbled to the paint, but it was Preira who stepped up defensively and blocked Talbot’s shot to hold the lead.
From the tip, both teams traded baskets. St. Mary’s showed its balanced attack with several Spartans getting in on the action. Preira and Niya Morgen finished with 17 points apiece while Queliz chipped in with 15.
Despite the heartbreaker, Dracut head coach Peter Witts left Lynn with his head held high.
“We played our hearts out,” Witts said. “We played a great team. They played fantastic [and] it was a game for the ages. Give St. Mary’s their credit, they got the last shot and hit it.”
Despite the win, the Spartans had trouble stopping Talbot. Newhall, throughout the game, tried different strategies as Morgen, Preira, and Queliz all took turns guarding Talbot.
Queliz said “she was a tough one to guard” while Preira said “we just tried to keep that to a minimum.”
“She’s a difference maker – one of the best players in the state,” Witts said.
Both Newhall and Witts said these types of games will help them heading into the state tournament.
“I asked Jeff last year, after we scrimmaged them, if we could play in this tournament,” Witts said. “It was great. We got into the finals as one of the top four seeds… these are the teams we want to play because they get us better – we’re going to see that in the state tournament.”
“You can call it whatever you want. It’s pressure, but these kids have been playing pressure games all their life,” Newhall said. “Whether it’s high school or AAU, those are the types of games they want to play in. Games like tonight will only help them.”
