Mistakes doom Presidents
Katie Roupe/ Observer-Reporter W&J's Mia Woytovich and the rest of the bench watch as a teammate makes a foul shot during overtime on Tuesday, November 25 in the game against Allegheny.
Katie Roupe/ Observer-Reporter W&J's Tori Bishop tries to pass the ball to a teammate, but the ball is knocked loose by Allegheny's Marina Scarantino (14) with Ifeyinwa Uwazie (34) nearby.
Katie Roupe/ Observer-Reporter W&J's Alexa Delgreco gets past Allegheny's Kendall Hoffman to score during the second half on Tuesday, November 25. Allegheny beat W&J 94-89 in overtime.
When the Washington & Jefferson College women’s basketball team has been good this season, the Presidents have been very good. Points and defensive stops have come easily.
However, when the Presidents have been bad, they’ve been self-destructive. Turnovers, missed shots and poor decisions have been too common.
It has added up to three nail-biter finishes. Fortunately for W&J, the good times were more plentiful than the bad in its first two games as the Presidents won a tournament at Penn State-Behrend, pulling out an overtime victory in the championship game.
Against Allegheny Tuesday night, W&J at both its best and worst were wrapped into one wild and fast-paced 45-minute game.
Allegheny used a 33-point performance by Emma Pellicano and erased a double-digit deficit – twice – to stun inconsistent W&J, 94-89, in overtime at Henry Memorial Center.
“This was a disappointing loss,” said dejected W&J coach Jina DeRubbo. “We played really well in spurts.
“In the first two games, we had girls who played well in the opener but not so well in the next game. But we also had people who didn’t play well in that first game come through the next night. For about 10 minutes tonight, we played very well. If we can just get everybody on the same page for an entire game …”
W&J (2-1) was excellent in the first half. The Presidents shot well, their passes were crisp and on target and they crashed the offensive boards for second-chance baskets. W&J used a 13-0 run to open a 30-16 lead, and the advantage grew to as many as 17 points (37-20).
“It seemed like W&J was making every three-pointer it took and we were missing everything,” Allegheny coach Katie Costanzo said.
The Presidents were getting contributions throughout the lineup, especially from their reserves, who combined for 17 points in the first half. Allegheny (4-2) did gain momentum by closing the half on a 13-5 run and drawing to within 42-33.
“We tried to set small goals,” Costanzo said. “We got the deficit down to single-digits at halftime, then we set getting it down to five points. Our defense got better, we got some rebounds and were able to get out and run, which is when we’re at our best.”
Allegheny’s Rachel Vigliotti scored half of her 10 points during a 10-0 run that pulled the Gators even at 54-54 with 14:04 remaining. The Presidents, however, responded by scoring 16 of the next 20 points to build the lead back to double-digits at 70-58. Sophomore guard Danni Medovich, a transfer from Hood, scored eight of her 18 points and made two threes during the run.
Allegheny, however, refused to fold. The Gators chipped away again at the deficit and closed to within 76-74 before a three-point play by Beka Bellhy and a basket off a rebound by Valerie Dunlap gave W&J a five-point lead with 42 seconds left in regulation.
Dunlap had another huge game with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Bellhy scored 13 points but fouled out late in regulation. She played only 27 minutes.
Allegheny forced OT by getting an offensive rebound and turning it into a basket by Pellicano, taking advantage of an ill-advised shot by W&J with 20 seconds left and then getting a game-tying three-pointer from Marina Scarantino with nine-tenths of a second left. It was the only field goal Scarantino made.
“That game was lost by mental errors and a lack of game management,” DeRubbo said. “It should have never gone to overtime. … Our kids like to play fast, but we’ve been through this situation before. We had to change the pace of the game.”
The Gators finally took the lead at 88-86 on another three, this one by Harper Zimmer two minutes into overtime. It was Allegheny’s first lead since 12-11.
Allegheny was able to protect the lead by getting a fast-break layup by Jessica Mrdjenovich and going to the free-throw line. The Gators made 28 of 32 free throws.
“Usually, when you try to erase a 17-point deficit, you either run out of gas or time,” Costanzo said. “That was a total team effort. There were times when it might have been easy for us to think we couldn’t come back.”
Kendall Hoffman kept Allegheny in the game in the first half by scoring 14 of her 20 points. Zimmer finished with 12 points. … Taylor Cortazzo had 12 points for W&J. … Presidents guard Alexa Del Greco scored seven points and had seven assists. … Pellicano, who made 13 of 20 shots, grabbed 11 rebounds, giving her a double-double.