Notre Dame survives
Arlington Cath. rallies, but falls
After seeing a double-digit lead in the Division 2 EMass final shrink to 3 with two minutes left, Notre Dame Academy of Hingham coach Michael Barrett called a timeout to steady his team.
But when his players came to the bench, he could tell he had nothing to worry about.
"I could see it in their faces that this was ours," Barrett said. "We weren't going to let this go."
Notre Dame responded by sinking 8 of its 12 free throws in the final two minutes to hold off Arlington Catholic, 46-38, yesterday at TD Banknorth Garden. Notre Dame (20-5) advances to play the winner of today's game between Millbury and Monument Mountain Regional in the state final Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester.
A layup by junior guard Kara Stefaniak gave Notre Dame a 38-26 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left, but Arlington Catholic (23-3) fought back. Senior guard Kelsey Roberson scored 9 straight points, cutting the deficit to 38-35 with just under two minutes to play.
"When it came down to it, we just ran out of time," Roberson said. "We didn't come together until the end, and by the fourth quarter, it was just too late."
Three free throws by Notre Dame senior guard Kelsey Reilly and one by Roberson made the score 41-36 with a minute left. Roberson had three chances on the ensuing Arlington Catholic possession, but couldn't get one to fall.
Reilly then hit two free throws to give Notre Dame a 7-point lead. She made 6 of 8 free throws in the final quarter.
"Definitely playing at [the Garden] was scary being at the line," Reilly said. "I took deep breaths, did what I usually do in practice, and just stuck to my routine."
The first three quarters were a defensive struggle. Notre Dame held Arlington Catholic to 4 points in the second quarter, and led, 21-14, at halftime.
The teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter until Notre Dame grabbed its first double-digit lead near the end, taking a 34-23 advantage into the fourth. Arlington Catholic's full-court pressure nearly produced a dramatic comeback, but the lead never dipped below 3.
"We had a lot of energy near the end of the game, so maybe we should have [pressed] a lot earlier," Arlington Catholic coach Dave Brady said.
Reilly led Notre Dame with 14 points. Senior guard Jessica Aruda had 12, and senior forward Nellie Kennedy had 11.
Roberson led Arlington Catholic with 20 points. Junior guard Lindsey Roche had 10, and senior forward Meredith Soper contributed 8.
"We got a little comfortable and the pressure got to us a little bit at the end," Reilly said. "I think we just kind of panicked at the end but finally came together as a team."
