Abby Blake Lifts JM By Preston
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MOUNDSVILLE -- Even in victory, there are lessons that can be learned. And when it came to Tuesday's matchup against Preston, John Marshall coach Brock Melko was pleased how it all played out. Up by as many as nine points in the third quarter, the Monarchs' lead disappeared in the blink of an eye thanks to a 17-0 run by Preston. However, that did not phase John Marshall as it overcame an eight-point deficit and Abby Blake hit a free throw with .5 seconds left to break a tie after a loose ball foul to secure a 66-65 victory Tuesday night at the John Marshall Fieldhouse.
"The first thing I said in the locker room was I was glad we won the way we did," Melko said. "A couple minutes into the third quarter, I think our players felt like we were going to cruise to a win. To Preston's credit, they didn't let that happen. They had a couple players really step up. I didn't think we were playing lazy, but I thought they for a while there were just outworking us. I'm glad that they did take that eight-point lead. We then found out what we were made of. We had to go out there and fight, earn it and show that we wanted it more than they did."
A pair of free throws by Anna Blake put the score at 42-33 in favor of John Marshall with 6:27 left in the third quarter. That's when Preston went on its run. A Michelle Thomas basket at the 3:35 mark gave the Knights their first lead of the contest at 43-42.
The lead increased to eight as Izabela Stahl supplied her first bucket of the game as the score read 50-42 with 1:41 left in the third.
Catherine Hunnell ended the scoring drought for the Monarchs with a 3-pointer, which sparked the Monarchs. After the long bomb, the Monarchs scored nine of the next 13 points to tie the game at 54-54 on a pair of Lakyn Groves free throws.
"We were ready all year for a big win in a close game," Melko said. "We've won some games, but especially late here when the moments have got tense and when we've been in close games, for whatever reason, the ball hasn't bounced our way. I'm a firm believer of you get out what you put in. I think we've done the right things in practice and we've played the right way even if we haven't played well at times. They've been coachable and play hard. Finally (Tuesday), we were fortunate to have the ball bounce our way at the end."
The Knights, though, scored six unanswered to take a 60-54 lead with 4:07 left.
But, the Monarchs didn't call it quits as they again chipped away at the deficit.
With 2:45 left, Madge Lucey drilled a huge 3-pointer as the Monarchs regained the lead, 64-62. After Grove connected on 1 of 2 free throws, Preston's Tori Garlits swished a shot from behind the arc to tied the scored at 65-65 with 58.8 seconds remaining.
The Monarchs held the ball until 15 seconds when a timeout was called by JM. When play resumed, the Monarchs tried to run their designed play as the Knights almost secured a steal. Near midcourt, Abby Blake was fouled on a loose ball with .5 seconds left that sent her to the line for two shots.
She sunk the first free throw to secure the win.
"My first thought was I didn't want her standing there for five minutes while they were deciding how much time was left. So I sent her twin, Anna to talk to her," Melko said. "Twins probably know each other better than anybody else. I figured rather than her stand there with the spotlight on her, I'd send Anna out to take a little pressure off her. But, Abby is the type of player… She was making that. She's got the winning mindset. Her and Anna both. They're winners. If we're down two and shooting three. She's going to make all three. She's going to do whatever she needs to do to win. In that situation, she had two shots and just needed to make one. I was extremely confident she would."
Hunnell paced the Monarchs with 26 points while Groves and Lucey netted 12 points. Abby Blake finished with nine points.
For the Knights, Carsynn Sines turned in 26 points while Thomas supplied 18.