TAUNTON – Thanks to a late push and enough offense, Norwell is back in the Div. 3 final for the first time since 1989.
The No. 2 Clippers used a clutch run in the third to put away No. 3 Medway 52-39 in the Div. 3 state semifinals at Taunton High Monday evening.
“It honestly feels fantastic,” said Norwell coach Matthew Marani. “The girls put in so much effort and it’s not just the winter. They put (the work) in all year round and I’m just so happy for them to get the reward of that hard work they’ve been doing.”
In the third, Norwell (23-1) missed their first six shots from the field as Medway (19-5) put together a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 32-31. The Clippers responded with an 8-0 run to push the lead back out to 40-31 as freshman Alex Cassidy hit a jumper in the final seconds of the frame.
“That’s the mental toughness of this group,” Narani said about that late run. “It’s fantastic. Teams go on runs. Especially in the tournament. It’s a game of runs and so we knew that they (Medway) was too good not to (go on a run). It was just a matter of weathering it and then coming back at them.”
The run continued in the fourth to make it a 42-31 contest on a pair of free throws for Cassidy, who scored seven of her 12 in the second half with four of those coming in the fourth.
From there, the Clippers held on and did not let the Mustangs get closer than nine.
In the first half, it was junior captain Reagan Dowd who kept the team afloat by knocking down four triples with two in each of the first two frames, including one right before the half to make it 30-21.
Junior captain Maddie Oliver collected all 16 of her points after the first and netted eight points in the second to push the lead out after 16 minutes.
“I mean coming into it, it’s like a feeling of nostalgia,” Oliver said about getting the win after losing in the same round last season 40-38 to Bishop Fenwick. “Coming into this year, I didn’t want that to happen again. When they went on their run, we had to keep our heads leveled and just keep pushing.”
For Medway, sophomore Anna Freeman finished with 12 points and junior captain Olivia Melanson added 11.
Next up, the Clippers will play Tuesday’s Foxboro/St. Mary’s of Lynn matchup this weekend at Tsongas Center in Lowell
