Valley Independent Sentinel

Defensive Intensity Carries Gaelettes To Victory

by Eliot Schickler | Feb 9, 2010 10:26 am

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Posted to: Shelton, Sports

The Gaelettes forced 30 turnovers Monday, 15 in each half, in a 36-32 home victory over Amity.

Shelton raised its record to 3-14 and eliminated Amity (4-13) from the playoffs in the process.

“It was a great win and I expected it because we beat them the first time [a 48-41 victory at Amity on Jan. 8],” Gaelettes Coach Mary Maciulewski said. “Defensively, we were on fire in the first half. We were off in the third quarter but came back in the fourth.”

Shelton came out strong and took a 6-0 lead. Junior Melissa Corraro (seven points, seven rebounds, three assists, six steals, five forced turnovers) sparked the defense in making the steals look easy.

“We wanted to win and that’s what it came down to,” Corraro said.

The Gaelettes missed many layups and their share of jump shots. They also committed 20 turnovers, 10 in each half. Their inability to execute on offense at times allowed the Lady Spartans to remain close.

When Amity senior captain Nkange Blue (18 points) broke the ice for her team with a three-point play with 1:38 remaining in the first quarter, it cut the lead in half, 6-3.

Corraro hit two free throws with 41.9 seconds left and Shelton led 8-5 after one quarter. Sophomore center Kelsey Pendagast also helped the Gaelettes in the paint and had a putback off the offensive glass in the first quarter.

Senior tri-captain Kelsey Perusse (three points, three rebounds) came off the bench and hustled down a few rebounds in the second quarter. Shelton increased its lead to six, 16-10 with 3:35 left in the half when Perusse swished a trey from Corraro, who deftly set up her teammates and could have easily had at least eight assists if it weren’t for missed shots.

“I tried to hit the open player,” Corraro said.

Juniors Molly Hanko (one steal, two forced turnovers) and Melissa Brouillette (two rebounds, one tieup) and freshmen Megan Burke (one assist, one steal, one forced turnover) and Alyssa Eannotti (one rebound) also contributed off the bench for Shelton in the second quarter.

Lady Spartan sophomore Tabitha Brown (seven points) made two free throws to pull Amity within four, 16-12, which was the score at the break.

Everything went wrong for the Gaelettes in the third quarter. Turnovers, missed shots and rebounding problems hurt them, which opened things up for the Lady Spartans.

Blue led the way and catapulted Amity to a 25-20 lead after three quarters. Pendagast and senior tri-captain Jen Spicer hit a layup and jump shot respectively for Shelton in the quarter and sophomores Brittany Lampert (one rebound, one assist, one steal, two forced turnovers) and Bianka Bell (two points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, three forced turnovers) had steals.

After a rough third quarter, the Gaelettes picked up the intensity in the fourth quarter and took the game back from the Lady Spartans.

“I mixed it up a little in the fourth quarter with a 1-2-2 defense and it made the difference,” Maciulewski said. “It wasn’t a good shooting night for us and we needed a spark from our defense.”

“We came out and got done what we needed to get done,” Spicer said.

Spicer especially ignited Shelton on defense. She had two straight steals in the fourth quarter and went in for a layup after wrestling the ball away from Amity.

“I put as much effort as I could and hustled,” Spicer said.

Renowned for her defense, Spicer (eight points, four steals, three forced turnovers, one tieup) has developed a shooting touch and swished a jumper off a kickout pass from Pendagast to start the rally.

“I got good passes tonight and took advantage of it,” Spicer said.

Pendagast (11 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, three steals, two forced turnovers) scored on two straight putbacks to give the Gaelettes a 28-25 lead, an advantage they never relinquished, with 6:10 to go in the game.

“I just went after the ball and I tried to get to it as fast as I could,” Pendagast said. “We needed to get the lead again and I stepped it up.”

Senior tri-captain Erin Chuma (five points, six rebounds, two assists, one forced turnover) increased the lead to six with a 3-point play off a Corraro pass and Pendagast added a floater to put Amity away.

“I feel we deserved this win because of how hard we worked,” Spicer said. “We were able to put it together after a rough third quarter.”

The Gaelettes have improved immensely as their previous games showed.

Maciulewski said, “The kids are working hard even though they aren’t going to states.”

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