By PAUL GOTHAM
PENFIELD, N.Y. — Grace Alexander scored five points and handed out two assists during a decisive 13-0 second-half run as the No. 3 Penfield girls’ basketball team defeated No. 6 Our Lady of Mercy, 56-45 in Section V Class AA action, Saturday afternoon.
Trailing 36-34, Alexander drove the lane, drew the defense and dished off to teammate Kennedy Cone for two points. Next trip down the floor, the 5-foot-3 point guard grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the putback before the third quarter ended to give Penfield a lead it did not surrender at 38-36.
“When the game was on the line, she started attacking down the middle,” Penfield head coach Mark Vogt said. “She’s so fast, and she’s got really good vision. She was breaking down their defense and finding people.”
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Cone converted pairs of free throws on consecutive possessions before Alexander found the 6-foot-2 senior forward running the floor in transition for two more points.
Alexander capped the run with a 3-pointer. Penfield led 47-34.
“We just did a good job rotating the ball,” Alexander said of the passing on the play that resulted in her only trey of the game. “Because of that, I got an open shot from the corner.”
Alexander followed with two more free throws and then fed Cone for another basket in the paint.
“She was sealing her defender really well,” Alexander said of her teammate. “I was able to get the ball into her for open layups.”
Grace Alexander draws the defense and dishes to Kennedy Cone. Alexander follows with a rebound and putback. Penfield 38-36 heading to the fourth . pic.twitter.com/R7U01qTRqv
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2022
Tasked with neutralizing Mercy’s Audrey Hintz in the post, Cone scored 11 of her 12 points in the second half.
“I was so focused on playing defense against her,” Cone noted. “All of sudden people are throwing me these great passes and I knew I had to finish those for my team.”
Penfield opened the game on an 8-0 run. The Patriots forced eight turnovers in the opening stanza and took an 11-2 advantage into the second quarter.
“We didn’t even shoot it well,” Vogt said of his team’s first-quarter performance. “We just turned them over and got layups. That helps when you play like that.”
Mercy responded, though.
Karli Harnischfeger used a crossover to get in the lane for a layup to make it a one-possession game at 13-11. Next trip down the floor, Sophie Dearcop buried a three to give Mercy its first lead of the game at 14-13.
Libby McDonough finished the quarter with a 4-point play and two more from the charity stripe as the Monarchs took a 23-22 edge heading into halftime.
Libby McDonough and-one gives Mercy a 21-19 lead. pic.twitter.com/TS1RvJUF8K
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2022
“We just got to have more energy than the other team,” Alexander said of the mindset coming out of halftime. “Our defense will create offense if we have energy.”
Penfield grabbed the lead early in the third quarter.
Jackie Funk converted a steal and layup with contact for an and-one and followed two possessions later with a corner three. Eva Elliot extended the advantage to six at 33-27 with a steal and layup.
Jackie Funk buries another corner 3. Eva Elliot forces a turnover and converts the layup. Penfield 33-27 3:53 remaining in the third. pic.twitter.com/xc0I43wqgz
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 26, 2022
“Our whole game plan was centered around trying to wear them out,” Elliot said. “That showed through in the fourth.”
Back-to-back rebound and putbacks from Hintz and Harnischfeger gave Mercy the 36-34 edge.
“We stay in the moment,” Elisa Faklaris explained. “Whatever happens in the past, stays in the past. That helps us to stay in the game and not let our past mistakes haunt us. We were so hungry for it.”
Funk led Penfield’s offense with 13 points. Elliot scored nine. Faklaris had eight. Emily Fordham (2) and Leah Fusilli (1) also scored for Penfield (15-5). Alexander handed out eight assists.
The Patriots will face No. 2 Fairport in the semi-finals. A 5 p.m. tip-off is scheduled Tuesday at Pittsford Sutherland High School.
Mercy’s McDonough led all scorers with 20 points. Harnischfeger finished with 10 points. Dearcop had six points while Hintz (4), Maddie Fitzgerald (4) and Lucy Cotrupe (1) rounded out the scoring for the Monarchs (11-10).
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