MILLBURY — Millbury coach Steve Reno said playing perennial powers like Notre Dame Academy this time of year serves as a measuring stick of how good his team is.
So far, the longtime Woolies mentor likes what he sees.
Sophomore point guard Shannon Reno scored a game-high 13 points, while classmate Morgan Cronan and senior Samantha Brady both added 10 to lead sixth-ranked Millbury to a 46-33 victory over the Rebels for its seventh straight win.
“I like how we’re playing as a team,” said coach Reno, whose team improved to 15-1. “This time of year we try to find out where we stand. Notre Dame brings out the best in us. I think we passed the test pretty well.”
“It’s (win) really big, especially against that team,” said Shannon Reno, who scored nine points in the second half on three, 3s. “Offensively, it’s (scoring) been very even. Everyone can do everything, which is really helpful. Guards can kick it out to the forwards to make shots and forwards can get it to the guards to make layups.
“We’ve been really working on our defense,” she added. “Every game we get stronger.”
Millbury trailed, 7-1, early in the first quarter, but settled down and led, 21-16, at halftime.
Notre Dame (7-7) cut it to 21-18 less than a minute into the third quarter when junior captain Kate Smiley converted on a drive, but fell to the floor, landing awkwardly, and did not return. Her absence took its toll.
“I’m not going to make excuses,” Rebels coach Peter Bogren said. "That’s not why we lost the game. We had some defensive lapses and they hit some shots. It was not because of an injury. You know what ? You’ve got to make plays.”
Junior captain Ellen Potvin made one, burying a jumper from the baseline to slice Notre Dame’s deficit to 21-20 with 5:36 left in the third quarter. Caitlyn Wilbur gave Millbury a little bit of breathing room after knocking down a trifecta to make it 24-20 with 5:18 to go in the third.
Kara Corriveau’s jumper cut the Woolies lead to 24-22 with five minutes remaining, but Millbury went on a 7-0 run, sparked by a Shannon Reno 3 from the right elbow with 3:30 to go.
A free throw by Jenna Nasuti, a deep two by Cronan, and a free throw by Brady boosted the Woolies' advantage to 31-22 with 2:07 left in the the third quarter. Notre Dame sophomore guard Ally Walker (team-high 8 points) tried to keep her team in it, drilling a 3-pointer from the left elbow to make it 31-25 with 1:51 to go.
Nasuti’s two free throws with 3.3 seconds left in the third made pushed the Woolies lead to 35-27 going into the final eight minutes.
Millbury’s offense, sparked by a pair of three’s by the 5-foot-4 Shannon Reno, remained red hot in the fourth period while its defense clamped down on the Rebels.
“Some of my teammates made some really nice picks and really nice passes,” Shannon Reno said on why she was able to get some good looks.
The Woolies led, 46-27, before Notre Dame, held scoreless for most of the quarter, scored six points in the final 46 seconds on a trifecta by Mackenzie Terry and a conventional three-point play by Hannah Marzo.
“I just think we picked up the pace of the game,” said Shannon Reno, who averages a team-high 12.1 points per game. “We tried to be really aggressive. We play really good team basketball.”