BOSTON - It may sound strange to use the term "veteran leadership" when talking about high school basketball, but experience was a defining factor in the St. Mary's Spartans' 53-50 victory in the MIAA Division 3 state semifinals over the Coyle & Cassidy Warriors Monday at TD Garden.
With seven seniors on the Spartans roster compared to only three for the Warriors, St. Mary's turned to the class of 2011 to lead a 8-for-11 performance at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to hold off Coyle & Cassidy and their leading scorer, Brenna Gonsalves (25 points, 7 rebounds).
"The idea was to slow down Gonsalves first," Spartans coach Jeff Newhall said, describing his team's game plan. He also wanted "to get as many one-and-dones and possible and get back up the floor."
Senior Cassi Amenta led the Spartans with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Tori Faieta chipped in 11 and 7. Freshman Brianna Rudolph also had 10 points and 4 rebounds.
"We had just enough to get by," Newhall added. "It's a tremendous achievement for our team and our school."
The Spartans led from beginning to end, but the Warriors stayed in it thanks to Gonsalves' big night and Missy Perry's 13 points and 6 steals. Eventually, the game came down to Amenta's free throws (4-for-4 from the line in the fourth quarter after starting the game 1-for-4) and a traveling call on the Warriors that stopped the potential tying or winning play with seventeen seconds left and the shot clock turned off.
"You win games at this level with seniors. [Kirsten Ferrari] had a big steal, Tori had a big and-one with two minutes left, Cassi had her free throws... the seniors were tremendous."
The Spartans will play for the Division 3 state championship Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester against either Sutton or Lee.
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