By BOB CHAVEZ
CANANDAIGUA — Everybody loves a good fireworks show but when it comes to tension and drama, defense provides it all.
And for all but the final 13 seconds of Saturday’s Class A state quarterfinal between Honeoye Falls-Lima and Mercy, that’s what fans got. But when Mercy senior Ella Rogala hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of Saturday’s game, the 41-40 victory it produced for the Monarchs was every bit as tense and dramatic as any heart can stand.
“I kind of knew it was going in,” said Rogala. “I knew my team was counting on me and it’s just an amazing feeling.”
And so, the Monarchs move on, closing the chapter of an intense rivalry that developed with HF-L this season. During the regular season, HF-L beat Mercy 43-31 on February 16. And in the March 7 Section V championship rematch, Mercy won 54-35. In a strange twist, though, HF-L remained in the state tournament with an at-large bid and defeated Norwich in the sub-regional round to set up a third meeting with Mercy.
On Saturday, each team knew what it was going to see and as the HF-L zone limited Mercy’s looks, Mercy’s man-to-man defense thrived in limiting opportunities for HF-L. Initially, it was Mercy that accelerated early to build an 11-5 lead midway through the opening quarter.
But HF-L figured it out and senior Shaye Angelo powered the Cougars back into the game with consecutive and-one situations in the final minute. She scored six points in that span to knot the score, 13-13. It was a 24-21 halftime lead for HF-L that soon became a 29-21 lead early in the third before Mercy responded.
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Emerson Wandtke, Laura Kosten, Robin Jones and Angelina Borrelli all converted to bring the Monarchs back and it was a 29-29 game with 3:50 left in the third.
But the Cougars answered with a bit of their own momentum and twice led by six in the fourth quarter, the latest being a 39-33 lead with 2:28 left. At this point, Mercy worked its way back into it.
Jones and Wandtke field goals cut the HF-L lead to 39-37 with 1:20 remaining but the momentum appeared to again shift to the Cougars. Two fouls on Wandtke in 19 seconds – a block and a charge – were her fourth and fifth fouls, which sent the 5-11 freshman to the bench. Yet with 23 seconds left, Mercy’s Bridget Wise hit the first of two free throws but still needed the ball back. That put the Monarchs in foul mode and with 13 seconds left, Richards was at the line for HF-L. The senior made the second to give the Cougars a 40-38 lead and Mercy’s timeout was dedicated to a plan.
So when the Monarchs got the ball down the floor, the outside look was there and Rogala’s shot was nothing but net.
“Ella is one of our best shooters,” said coach Tom McDonough. “In practice, she’s always hitting shots so I told her to just pretend this was practice.”
As Mercy was celebrating its dramatic victory, the Cougars of HF-L were processing the stunning development and left with nothing but the realization that their season was finished. But it wasn’t for lack of effort.
“We had the zone because we were hoping to keep them from making as many shots as they did the last time we played,” said HF-L coach Steve Willoughby. “And it worked for three quarters.”
Willoughby, who is retiring after 37 years of area coaching, was honored after the game. He exits with 575 victories, nine Section V titles and a 2005 state championship. And while he leaves the game just seconds short of a 576th win, he was prepared for his final post-game locker room chat.
“Hey, we overachieved all year, so I’m happy for the girls,” he said. “Sometimes, things like this happen and we were right there so we can’t be upset as long as the effort was there.”
Angelo scored a game-high 22 points for the Cougars, who end their season with a 16-9 record. Mercy (16-9) was led by 10 from Jones, 8 from Kosten and 5 from Wandtke. The Monarchs advance to the Class A state semifinals next weekend in Troy.
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