PARIS — Oxford Hills gave a textbook demonstration of perseverance on Monday night and then senior Brooklyn Alexander stole the ball and sealed Cheverus’ fate.
All the Vikings’ efforts on offense and defense culminated in a 49-48, overtime victory over the relentless Stags in a Class A girls basketball game.
“Well, I saw the ball was in the corner and usually when the ball is in the corner, you usually move up,” Alexander said. “I didn’t know what to do. I saw the ball in the air and just jumped. I didn’t know I was going to get (the ball). I didn’t know I could catch one-handed. I didn’t get to play much — four fouls.”
The Vikings (12-1) closed to within eight points in the fourth quarter thanks to Ella Pelletier’s 3-pointer and tough defensive play. Then the Vikes got another 3-pointer and made it a 44-38 game in favor of Cheverus with 3:17 left in the game. Oxford Hills’ Sierra Carson (team-high 22 points) scored and cut the Stags’ lead to four. Then Carson scored again and the Stags (12-2) found themselves clinging to a 45-43 lead.
Tristen Derenberger’s 3-pointer with a minute to play tied the game at 46-46.
A foul called on the Stags gave Oxford Hills the ball back with 26 seconds left, but the game went into overtime, with the score stuck at 46-46.
The Vikings jumped ahead 49-48 on Carson’s three-point play in the extra session. Carson said she got off to a slow start against the Stags, but she thrived in the fourth quarter and overtime when she kept hearing the roar of a packed crowd.
“With the gym going crazy, it just gave me and the team momentum,” Carson said. “It was just an awesome game.”
Vikings coach Nate Pelletier was walking around the gym with his eyes wide open and huge grin.
“Like I told the girls in the locker room, I said, ‘At first, I felt like we were playing like not really scared, but really nerved up’ … but in the end, when we were down five or so, they just said, ‘You know, it is what it is. I’m going to give every single ounce of effort I have.’ And at the end of the day, it worked out for us.
“We had a couple of kids that caught fire when they needed to. Sierra had a big (three-point play) and obviously the steal at the end. Brooklyn came in and made a big steal. She was in foul trouble, so sat a lot of the fourth quarter for us. We have some kids that will just go in and know what their roles are and come up with big plays when they need to.”
Pelletier had 12 points to lead the Vikings. The Stags’ Maddie Fitzpatrick — who didn’t play in the first meeting between the teams this season — scored the game-high 23 points and teammate Emily Bontatibus had 10.
The Vikings were able to exact some revenge after losing 62-59 at Cheverus on Jan. 22.
Oxford Hills’ fast-paced defense did everything humanly possible to deter the Stags, but a patient Cheverus worked around the Vikings’ press and opened up a 28-17 lead at halftime.
Cheverus built a 34-25 lead less than four minutes into the third quarter. But every time the Vikings started closing in, the Stags slipped away and took a 41-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The teams’ tenacity led to a physical game where either team was too stubborn to budge. The Vikings double-teamed key players and used a press at times, but Cheverus still thrived on offense.
Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter, but the Stags started getting looks and penetrating to build a 14-9 lead.
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