Mansfield, Mass. – Going into halftime, Beth Clifton had been pretty anonymous. Attleboro’s junior forward was limited to zero points and just two rebounds as the Bombardiers struggled to get the ball into the post against Mansfield’s 1-2-2 zone.
The second half, however, was a completely different story.
Clifton had a double-double after halftime with 12 points (almost singlehandedly matching the team’s 16 points from the first half) and 11 rebounds. Attleboro used the forward’s energy as a spark to push through a terrible start to win a critical game over the Hornets, 41-30.
“Beth just plays with a type of passion that you just can’t find and she plays with a fire in her eyes; I love it,” said a relieved Missy Traversi after the game. The Attleboro head coach admitted this was almost a must-win for Attleboro, "This was a big game for us. It was pivotal.”
Hornets head coach Mike Redding was frustrated with his team’s offensive effort.
“If you told me that we would hold them to 41, I would have thought that we’d win the game,” he remarked. “I thought when we ran the offense we got good looks but we just forced some things. They’re trying to make things happen but sometimes you need to pull it out and settle it down a bit.”
The Hornets (3-11) began the game on an 8-0 run and did not allow a basket until sophomore Kim Runey knocked down a three-pointer with 1:19 left in the opening period. Mansfield missed an opportunity to put a big cushion between themselves and Attleboro during a more than four-minute stretch where neither team was able to score a point.
To make things worse, the teams combined for 18 turnovers in the first quarter.
“It was the first quarter that was just horrendous,” said Traversi. “We had adversity right in the face today in that first quarter and they bounced back.”
Attleboro improved offensively in the second quarter to cut the lead to just four points at halftime. The Bombardiers started to push the ball inside and junior forward Bri Laplume (six points, 10 rebounds) started getting to the free throw line. Attleboro scored six of its 11 points in the quarter from the line.
As the two teams made their way to the locker room, it felt like Mansfield had let the Bombardiers hang around too long.
Mansfield suffered a big blow just three minutes into the second half when senior captain Gina Stoyle picked up her third and fourth fouls and was forced to the bench. Stoyle had eight points in the first half, but would not score again. Redding was not pleased with some of the calls that went against his team.
“It kind of hurts when you’re being outshot at the free throw line...by three times as many,” he explained. “Free throws are valuable and we never had a one-and-one the entire 32 minutes.”
The Bombardiers took their first lead of the game, 21-20, on a Laplume layup with 4:20 left in the third quarter and they would not trail again. Keri Beland scored on the inside and then Runey, who finished with 11 points, followed with her third three-pointer of the game as the Bombardiers built a six-point lead by the end of the quarter.
Despite shooting a low percentage from the outside, Traversi was pleased to see a few of the shots fall for Runey and hopes that it can get things going for the team.
She said, “We haven’t hit from the outside in…I don’t know how long and, especially in Bri’s absence (senior guard Bri Hochwarter), we really need to hit some three’s.”
“We were lucky tonight. It’s really hard to come in here and win,” Traversi added.
The fourth quarter was back and forth with the Hornets relying on junior forward Janet Maher, who scored six points in the fourth (Maher finished with a game-high 11 points and six rebounds). But, Attleboro consistently had an answer. Clifton scored eight points in the final quarter and the Bombardiers shot 7-11 from the free throw line down the stretch.
This was a critical win for Attleboro, which faces a very difficult schedule to close out the season. The Bombardiers are two wins away from qualifying for the postseason and will look to pull one closer when they face league-leading North Attleboro on Tuesday night. Mansfield travels to King Philip.