By PAUL GOTHAM
CHURCHVILLE, N.Y. — Ruby Marrapese liked the shot when it left her hand.
With less than 10 seconds remaining and the Webster Thomas Titans facing a one-point deficit, Marrapese caught a pass along the right wing.
The sophomore guard didn’t hesitate.
Her shot found the bottom of the net.
“I knew it was going in,” Marrapese said after her 3-pointer proved to be the difference as Webster Thomas evened its record to 2-2 with a 38-36 victory over host Churchville-Chili. “Right when it left my hand, I knew it was going in. I could feel it.”
Ruby Marrapese gives @ThomasAthletics its first lead of the second half. pic.twitter.com/7tnjyb3ckI
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 23, 2022
Marrapese’s bucket gave Thomas its first lead since a 14-13 edge midway through the second quarter.
“We knew we had to come back,” she said. “We all stepped up and said what we need to work on. We came together as a team. We made it happen on the court.”
Trailing 31-25 with less than six minutes remaining in the contest, Mady Kelly cut the deficit in half with one of her three 3-pointers in the second half. Maggie Smith found Ella Wambach in the low post for a bucket to make it a one point game at 31-30.
Mady Kelly 3. pic.twitter.com/2D7I2oNKP2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 23, 2022
Churchville-Chili’s Haley Leonard connected on a catch-and-shoot jumper for a 36-33 Saints’ lead with 1:08 on the clock.
“We knew it was going to be kind of a slugfest,” said Thomas head coach Jason Charno. “We talked about never letting yourself get out of the game. They stepped up, and we’re going to learn a lot from this.”
Marrapese converted a rebound and putback to make it a one-point game. Thomas got a stop on defense to set up the winning bucket.
“We had looked to draw something up out of the timeout,” Charno explained. “It didn’t run perfectly. Ruby trusted in herself.”
That the pass came from Kelly was no surprise. The Titans leading scorer came into the contest averaging better than 20 points per game. Churchville’s defense gave the senior guard plenty of attention throughout the night.
“She trusts her teammates,” Charno said of Kelly. “If she gets double-teamed, she knows to get it out and find the open teammate.”
Thomas moved the ball from side-to-side on the winning play. On Kelly’s second touch of the sequence she received the ball just to the right of the top of the key. She took a dribble toward the middle of the floor and drew a pair of defenders creating enough space for Marrapese to get time to release her shot.
“It didn’t matter,” Marrapese said of the shooter on the winning play. “We both knew we could have made it. If she wasn’t double-teamed and she shot it, she would have made it. It would have worked out well either way.”
Kelly led all scorers with 16 points. Marrapese and Maggie Smith scored eight apiece. Wambach had four points, and Emily Ford scored two points.
Mady Kelly 3. pic.twitter.com/2D7I2oNKP2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 23, 2022
Katie Draper paced the Churchville (0-4) offense with 12 points. Sydney Postell scored 11. Amelia Breton had eight points including six in a 10-1 run to close the second quarter and take a 20-15 lead into halftime. Leonard had seven points.
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