MANSFIELD, Mass. - Both Mansfield and Foxboro were riding back-to-back losses heading into Friday night, but it was the Hornets who were able to get back into the win column with a fourth quarter comeback and a 56-50 victory over the Warriors.
In the opening quarter of play, Foxboro came out strong as Jamie Ballou drained three three-pointers. She led the Warriors with nine points off of three three-pointers in the first eight minutes of play. Mansfield had a hard time finding any momentum in the quarter as they were only held to eight points, five of them were scored by Janet Maher. Foxboro was up 13-8 heading into the second quarter.
Foxboro started the second quarter scoring four points with baskets from Ballou to stretch the lead 17-8. Mansfield woke up offensively and answered with a 6-0 run. The Maher sisters, Caroline and Janet, and Alyssa Kelley helped cut the Warrior lead to just three and then Mansfield was then able to strike again with a three pointer from Hannah MacKillop and a successful and one by Janet Maher to give the Hornets a 20-19 lead going into halftime.
The second half of play was a very tight battle between the neighboring towns. During the third quarter, there were multiple scoring runs from each team. The Warriors, helped by baskets from Cassidy Harrison (12 points) and Katherine Tamulionis, were able to go on an 8-2 run and regain the lead at 27-22.
Mansfield answered back with a 11-2 run in which Janet Maher scored five of her 19 points to make it a three point lead for Mansfield at 33-29. Foxboro would then finish the exciting quarter with an 11-5 run helped by six points from Carolynn Will. Foxboro had a two point lead going into the final eight minutes of play.
In the beginning of the fourth it appeared as if Mansfield was on its way to another tough loss as they trailed by six but they didn’t panic. Their defense started playing aggressive and it worked to their advantage, limiting the Warriors to just 10 points in the final quarter.
The Hornets found magic in their offense as they went on a 12-0 run to create a seven point cushion at 55-48. The duo of sophomore guards, Jackie Carchedi and Caroline Maher, were the only ones to score for Mansfield during the run. Caroline scored seven and Carchedi chipped in with five points during the pivotal turning point of the game.
Mansfield coach Mike Redding stated that the game plan against the highest scoring offense in the Hock was "Trying to out hustle them and battle them on the boards and to just try to play as hard as we could."
The game plan worked perfectly as Mansfield was able to outrebound Foxboro 32-16. Mansfield also capitalized with 11 steals.
"We were just trying spread them out,” Redding explained. “We've got a lot of people that can drive. Caroline Maher, Alyssa Kelley, Jackie Carchedi. I thought they took it to the basket strong. Janet Maher and Jess Stoyle worked hard inside, they're not real big but they worked hard. Everyone contributed. We really stepped up on defense the last 4-5 minutes. The beginning of the second half, Foxboro was shooting and we couldn't stop them. We made a few adjustments but more than, we just started playing tough. We just had that one great run and were able to hang on."
Redding was really satisfied with the victory and emphasized how big it was to pull away with the win. "It was a great win, we really needed it. We lost to a couple tough ones to good teams. We really needed to get some momentum back. This was a huge win at home against a great team," he said.
The Maher sisters were a force to be reckon with throughout the entire game and proved to be too much for Foxboro. Caroline scored a game high 21 points. She also had four steals and shot block. Janet scored 19 points, including 11 out of 12 free throws and added a game-high nine rebounds.
“They're great,” Redding said of the Mahers. “Caroline doesn't play like a typical sophomore. She'll take the three and go to the hoop. Janet is such a workhorse underneath the hoop. She finds a way to get in there and get some free throws and baskets. She's such a competitor. We'd be in trouble without her," he said.
Foxboro (6-7) will try to break their three game losing streak when they host North Attleboro on Tuesday. Mansfield (9-4) will look to keep the momentum going and try to pick up another victory as they host Sharon on Sunday afternoon.
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