LYNN — With less than 10 seconds remaining in Tuesday night’s Spartan Classic championship game, St. Mary’s girls held a 48-46 lead over Oliver Ames. But in the 50-49 win for the host Spartans, it took some big-time heroics to get the job done.
Oliver Ames sophomore Avery Gamble drilled one from downtown with 5.4 seconds remaining in regulation (49-48).
Fast forward to the two-second mark, and St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall called a timeout.
With star freshman Bella Owumi, who had already netted a game-high 17 points, it was natural to think she was getting the ball – that’s why Newhall used her as a decoy.
“I knew we had to use Bella as a screener,” he said. “As good as she is and as good as we might be able to be, I just feel like in that situation, the other team is too good to let her get the ball.”
The play was designed for sophomore Jillian Roberts, who had Newhall’s full trust.
“Jill attacks the hoop really well [and] she’s a slasher. We just ran Bella away from the ball and had her screen for Jill,” Newhall said.
Just like it was drawn up, Bella ran away from the ball and set a screen for Roberts, who came off a double screen to receive the ball. From there, Roberts – on a tough angle – got the shot off right as the buzzer sounded before seeing it fall through the net.
“She used the screen, went high, and then went down towards the ball. The angle wasn’t the greatest, but we’ll take it,” Newhall said.
The St. Mary’s faithful erupted as Roberts won the home fans another Spartan Classic.
When asked how she felt leading up to the final play, Roberts was, well, honest.
“Obviously, at first, I was a bit nervous, but I knew that Coach drew up the play for a reason. I knew we were going to execute it and I just needed to go and finish it,” Roberts said.
Sometimes, a team’s best player demands the final shot. But for Owumi, she had all the confidence in her teammate.
“I have teammates for a reason… Getting teammates open is the most important part of the game. It’s not a one-person game,” Owumi said. “Just making sure I got her open was the most important part.”
Although the Spartans walked out victorious, Oliver Ames made it extremely difficult thanks to its long-range attack.
“The last minute-and-a-half pretty much sums up our whole season,” Newhall said. “It’s just been a work in progress. Our plan going in was to defend them from the outside because we knew they could shoot.”
The final minute of the game saw both teams exchange baskets – leads, too – and, as they often say, it came down to who had possession last.
“The challenge was staying in it mentally,” Roberts said. “Sometimes, when we get tired mentally, it starts to affect our bodies. I think we just stayed together.”
For the Spartans, they’ve played some of the top teams in the state recently – Bishop Fenwick last week, and now Dartmouth and Oliver Ames in the Spartan Classic.
“I don’t think there’s any question that these last two [games] help you in the state tournament,” Newhall said. “We are a younger group and have been in really good games across the last month against quality opponents.”
Owumi agreed with her coach.
“We played good teams like Feehan, Cathedral, and teams like that. It shows us what we need to work on and shows us our strengths and weaknesses,” she said. “It makes us aware of what we need to work on in practice to prepare for those games.”
Owumi and Lily Norton received awards postgame, as Owumi was named tournament MVP and Norton was selected to the all-tournament team.
“She’s [Norton] been our most improved player from the start. Lily is a freshman and our primary ball-handler. She doesn’t come out of the game,” Newhall said. “She gained experience last year in practice, guarding Yirsy [Queliz]. Then, if she needed a break, we put her on Niya [Morgen] or Kellyn [Preira].”
The Spartans await Saturday’s state tournament brackets as they look to bring another state title back to Lynn.
