CANTON, Mass. – Canton led by 15 heading to the fourth quarter and seemed to be in command of Friday night’s Div. 2 opening round game at the Masciarelli Gym, but after waiting 14 years for a playoff win (also the last time that the Bulldogs hosted a tournament game) things weren’t going to be that easy.
Tewksbury stormed back in the final quarter, eventually cutting the lead to as little as five points. The Bulldogs were held scoreless for nearly four minutes, but, after shooting just 4-of-14 from the line up to that point, Canton made 6-of-7 free throws in the closing minute and pulled out a 56-49 win in front of its home fans.
“I think ultimately having the home game helped us prevail for sure,” said Canton coach Jim Choquette. “The crowd was great, the boys team was here going crazy, I think all that kind of stuff adds up. I’m really proud of them for the 20 games they played to get us up to this point. Those 20 games gave us this win tonight.”
For the senior trio of Kiara Cerruti (game-high 19 points), Fay Gallery (18 points) and Sydney Gallery (nine points and nine rebounds), it was a moment four years in the making. The Bulldogs lost first round road games in their first two years on the team and missed the chance at a postseason run with last year’s shortened winter.
“It’s definitely super exciting,” Fay Gallery explained. “We’ve always had that long bus ride home after losing and it always sucks, so I was excited to have a home playoff game. But, we didn’t come this far to only come this far, so I’m excited for our next game.”
Cerruti added, “It feels amazing. Being here for four years and we’ve had difficulty winning the first playoff game, so it feels great and we hope to go really far. I think we have some momentum now and I really think that’s going to help us.”
With a big student section at its backs, Canton came out flying. Fay Gallery entered the game needing 14 points to become just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 points (and second this season, following Cerruti, who hit the mark almost exactly a month ago). It looked like Gallery was going to get it all in the first quarter.
She started off 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and added a drive to the basket, scoring 11. Cerruti also started hot, turning Gallery’s steal into a transition layup, drilling a three on a pass from Sydney Gallery, and then driving baseline for a bucket. They combined for 18 of Canton’s 20 in the first and helped the Bulldogs take an early 12-point lead.
“They play fast, they run a lot,” Choquette said of Tewksbury, “and we knew that and we wanted to run because that’s our style. Shooting a lot of threes is what we’ve always done, taking advantage of fast breaks is what we’ve always done. We don’t want to change something we did for 20 games and do something different in the playoffs.”
Cerruti added her second three of the game to kick off the second and Samya DaSilva added back-to-back baskets in the paint, as Canton continued to move the ball well while still trying to get Gallery a shot at her career milestone. She had a chance to get there from the line after being fouled on a three-point attempt, but she made 2-of-3 and went into halftime just one point short.
Tewksbury was hanging around and threatening to get back into the game but Canton seemed to always keep the Redmen at arm’s length. Han Hong (six rebounds) hustled to grab a defensive rebound in the final seconds and sparked a break that led to a Cerruti layup and a 31-18 halftime lead.
Coming out of the break. Sydney Gallery blocked a shot and grabbed the loose ball on one end and then set up Cerruti for another three to push the lead back to 16. Tewksbury started to chip away, as Rachel Picher hit a pair of threes and had eight points in the third, helping the Redmen get as close as eight.
Then Fay Gallery got her moment to make history. Taking a pass right in front of the bench, Gallery took a dribble towards the corner and pulled up for a three, drilling the shot before being swarmed by her teammates and the Canton student section that spilled out onto the court to celebrate.
Congrats Fay for joining the 1000 point club!! @Canton_Bulldogs pic.twitter.com/IUT7Karxjz
— Kristen (@CantonBulldogAT) March 5, 2022
“A lot of pressure was on me for sure but I tried not to think about it,” Gallery said of that moment. “I didn’t think I was going to be in this position because of the COVID year last year, but I’ve definitely worked hard and I’m proud of where I am right now.”
When asked what it means to experience the milestone just weeks apart, Cerruti said, “It’s really special. We’ve worked really hard. Every day at practice, we try to get better and it’s really great how far we’ve come.”
Buoyed by the energy from the milestone basket, Canton closed the third on a 7-0 run. Sydney Gallery went coast-to-coast, spinning through the lane for a layup and Cerruti buried her fourth triple of the night to send the Bulldogs into the fourth leading 46-31.
Tewksbury started the quarter on an 8-0 run. Samantha Ryan (team-high 17 points) hit a three and drove to the basket to cut the lead down to seven. DaSilva (eight points) finally got Canton on the board in the fourth with a layup off a Cerruti assist just about midway through the quarter. After two free throws from the Redmen, Sydney Gallery took a pass from her sister and scored to keep the lead at nine.
Canton needed to make shots at the line to try and seal the win. DaSilva stepped up and calmly made a pair to make it a 10-point game. Tewksbury scored four straight and missed a three that would’ve made it a one-possession game. Sydney Gallery knocked down two free throws and, after Madison Stovesand nailed a three to keep things interesting, Fay Gallery hit two more to close things out.
“It was kind of clear that they were going to be different than your normal freshmen coming in,” Choquette replied when asked about his three senior stars, who all likely would’ve gotten to 1,00 career points if not for last winter being cut in half, and how they were able to come through to secure that elusive first playoff win. “There was a lot of pressure on them too. I think probably the most impressive thing is how well they handled it all four years.
“It’s not easy to go in and start three freshmen on a varsity team night-in and night-out. I think they were extremely mature when they were freshmen and sophomores, they proved themselves to the league, they proved themselves to the team, and now that they’re older, they’re leaders and everyone looks to them when the times are tough. To their credit, they did it beautifully.”
Canton (15-6) advances to the second round and will travel to No. 7 seed Westwood on a date to be determined. It will be a rematch of the final game of the regular season, which the Bulldogs won 46-40 in the final of the Riley Classic.
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