Breen picks up the pace
She helps propel Millis to the title
Amid the excitement of playing on the parquet floor at TD Banknorth Garden, Millis's Molly Breen stole the show.
The junior forward drove the Mohawks to the Division 4 state title in a 60-43 victory over Georgetown.
"I just wanted this so bad," said Breen. "I figured that if I took it at [Georgetown], we could come out on top."
After a slow first quarter after which Georgetown held a 10-8 lead, Breen began to assert herself. She scored 10 of her team's 21 second-quarter points.
"Molly made some great drives and took it hard to the basket," said Millis coach David Fallon.
Breen did not stop there, though, with an even better third quarter. She scored Millis's final 8 points of the third and had 13 of the team's 19 points in the period. Breen's play helped stretch the Mohawk lead to 13 (48-35) after three.
"Molly has those runs," said Fallon. "She puts us on her back. She finished off the third quarter real strong for us."
Breen finished her monster day with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots.
Millis (19-6) ratcheted up the defensive intensity after the first quarter. The Mohawks pressed Georgetown and forced errant passes. When the Royals were able to set up their offense, Millis swarmed to the ball and forced poor shots.
"We are a pressure team," said Fallon. "We like to change it up and keep opposing coaches and players on their feet. We were a little tentative against Cohasset [in the South finals] and realized we had to flip the switch and go after Georgetown."
Millis also got outstanding play from Amy Ingraham. The senior guard netted 18 points in her final high school game.
The Royals guards weren't able to get the ball into the post to their two best players, Haley Gisonno and Taryn O'Connell. Gisonno scored 13 points and O'Connell had 12 points and 10 boards.
"We didn't have our best game today," said Georgetown coach Barri Ann Alonzo. "We are normally more aggressive on defense and we went into periods where we didn't play the best defense we could. Offensively, we didn't get the shots and looks that we needed."
Georgetown (9-16) could not ride the momentum it garnered from beating the top three seeds in the North sectional.
The Royals took advantage of the Sullivan Rule, which allowed them to play in the tournament because of their .500 or better record against opponents from their division.
In the end, Millis rode its emotion and Breen to the title.
"We were nervous and anxious coming in," said Fallon. "We had fun, soaked it in, and finished it off."
