EAST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Mansfield had its struggles on the offensive side of the court, but its defense shut down first Cardinal Spellman and then beat host East Bridgewater 38-30 to take home the title at this weekend’s holiday basketball tournament.
It was the third straight game that the Hornets had held an opponent in the 30s.
On Saturday afternoon in the final against the Vikings, Mansfield (4-0) moved the ball well and got open looks against an aggressive halfcourt defense, but struggled to knock down shots. Sophomore Caroline Maher scored three points in the opening quarter and freshman Jennifer Peel added another three on a layup plus the foul to give the Hornets an 11-5 lead.
In the second quarter, baskets were even harder to come by for both teams. Senior Janet Maher scored a pair of layups, but that was all that Mansfield could muster and the Hornets went into halftime leading 15-9.
Head coach Mike Redding was happy with the defense that his team showed over the weekend, but admitted that there will have to be an improvement in the shooting department.
“Against Attleboro (a 59-51 win) we were lights out, but since then we’ve been struggling a little bit,” he explained. “I think we’re just rushing shots and, you know, it’s tricky that we haven’t been in a routine. We’ve had early tips and we played back-to-back with no practice in between.”
Redding added, “The good thing is that we’re so much better defensively than a year ago. If we can play defense like that then we have a chance of winning every night.”
In the first half, Mansfield was shooting into the sun, which poured through the windows that lined the, otherwise pristine, gym at East Bridgewater. At the start of the second half, it seemed that with the sun no longer an issue the Hornets would find the scoring touch, but that only lasted a few minutes.
Janet Maher hit a lefty hook shot in the lane, sophomore Jackie Carchedi had a breakaway layup, and Caroline Maher knocked down a corner three, as Mansfield went on a 7-0 run in the opening 1:41 of the third quarter. Over the next 6:19, the Hornets would only manage one more basket, on a putback by Janet Maher.
Redding praised his senior for her approach on both ends of the court. Maher finished with a game-high 14 points and added 11 rebounds.
“She battles hard,” said Redding. “She’ll give you the three and she’ll battle inside. She’s just a competitor and finds ways to get the ball in the hoop.”
Mansfield had a 10-point lead heading into the fourth, but a 9-1 run by the Vikings cut it down to three. A trio of free throws by Peel gave the Hornets a six-point advantage with just less than two minutes to play and Lauren Beecher added a short jumper and free throw to make it 35-26.
EB went into a full-court press that led to a couple of quick buckets to setup a tight finish. The Hornets settled down and made a few free throws to hold on for a victory that keeps them undefeated this season.
“Our backcourt is pretty young and we let them back in with some turnovers, but when you’ve got freshmen and sophomores they’re going to make some mistakes and we need to get better at breaking the press a little bit.”
In addition to Janet Maher, Mansfield got six points each from Caroline Maher and Jen Peel. Junior Jess Stoyle was scoreless but added a team-high 13 rebounds. EB was led by junior forward Olivia Signori, who finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Redding admitted it was not a perfect performance, but he remarked, “Hey, we’re 4-0 after 4-16 last year. So, winning ugly is a lot better than losing close like last year. We just have to get a little better when we get back in the Hockomock.”
Mansfield will now have a break until January 3 when it travels to Oliver Ames.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.