Tag: Bishop Feehan

Tigers Take Down Feehan and Advance to Final

Taunton softball
Junior Alexa White scampers home with a Taunton run during the South semifinal against Bishop Feehan. The Tigers advanced with a 9-1 victory. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

By Cameron Merritt, HockomockSports.com Contributor

TAUNTON, Mass.- The No. 2 seed Taunton Tigers took an early lead against Bishop Feehan Wednesday night at Jack Tripp Field and didn’t look back as they beat the visiting No. 4 seed Shamrocks 9-1 to advance to the Div. 1 South final.

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“It feels great,” said Taunton coach Dave Lewry. “It’s been a while since we’ve been [to the South final] and we’re just taking it one game at a time. We treat every game as if it’s the championship.”

On the mound, Taunton freshman starter Kelsey White put up a strong performance, surrendering just one run and six hits, while striking out two in a complete game win.

For Feehan, the loss went to senior Shauna Hamill, who gave up 14 hits, nine runs (six earned) and two walks while striking out two in a complete game performance.

At the plate, the Tigers saw several strong contributions, starting from the leadoff spot. Junior third baseman Jaime Brown went 3-for-3 with three runs and an RBI on two singles, a double and a walk. Senior catcher Kya Enos also impressed at the plate, going 1-for-2 with a pair of both runs and RBI.

For the Shamrocks, the offense was lead by sophomore catcher Gabrielle Comeau, who went 2-for-3 scoring the team’s only run of the evening.

The Tigers wasted little time in getting on the board as a leadoff double by Brown in the bottom of the first put a runner on for the hosts, who would come home off a sacrifice bunt by Enos to make it 1-0.

“That was huge,” Lewry said of the run. “We went suicide squeeze on that. I like to get the first run, I like to put the other team behind and make them push a little bit.”

The Shamrocks would push a little in the top of the second, as a leadoff single up the middle by Comeau turned into the tying run three at-bats later as a simple short hit to shallow left by sophomore designated player Hannah Ramer brought in Comeau from third and quickly drew the action back even.

However, things wouldn’t stay even for long.

The Tigers struck back in the bottom half of the inning, as a single by junior second baseman Alexa White became the go-ahead run off of a base-clearing triple from sophomore first baseman Paige Silvia. Silvia was brought in two at-bats later as a single to left by Brown allowed her to score and make it 3–1 in favor of the home team.

The middle innings were fairly quiet for both offenses, as both pitchers settled in to their grooves, particularly Kelsey White, who went three straight innings with three straight outs.

“She’s incredible,” Lewry said of White. “I’ve grown out of superlatives for her, she is just an incredible pitcher for a ninth grader, for any grade. She throws the spots, she’s got nice stuff, she throws hard and she does not get rattled out there.”

The Taunton offense roared back to life in the bottom of the fifth, as walks to Brown and Enos to start the inning gave the hosts a good scoring chance, but they quickly found themselves down two outs. A shallow infield pop up by freshman shortstop Hanna Aldrich looked likely to end the inning, but the ball bounced off Hamill’s glove, allowing Aldrich to load the bases and Kelsey White to clear them with a deep double just an at-bat later, doubling the Tigers’ lead to 6-1.

Three more runs would follow as the Tigers batted around in the bottom of the sixth. Six straight singles put Taunton in control, with Enos scoring Brown, senior outfielder Mackenzie Handrahan scoring Liana Duarte and Aldrich scoring Enos respectively, making it 9-1.

Comeau lead off the top of the seventh for Feehan with a single, but a comeback wasn’t meant to be for the Shamrocks, as two fielder’s choices and a fly out to right would end both their chances and their season.

Three games now separate the Tigers from a D1 state title, and for players like Handrahan, their desire for the trophy grows stronger every day.

“We’ve never wanted something so much for each other,” said Handrahan. “We’re just so close, this team’s so close… and we have ‘it,’ so we have to bring ‘it.’”

The Tigers will look to bring it on Friday when they face a familiar foe in the South final – Kelley-Rex rival King Philip.

“King Philip’s a great team,” said Lewry. “We had two outstanding games with them this year, both of them one run games, and I expect another one like that.”

“This game is really big to us,” said Handrahan. “We want to win so bad”

Taunton (23-2) and King Philip (21-3) will face off Friday at 7 p.m. at Taunton High School’s Jack Tripp Field.

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Oliver Ames Rallies For Walk-Off Win Over Feehan

Oliver Ames baseball
Oliver Ames’ Michael Mulrean struck out 11 in a complete game nine-inning effort. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
NORTH EASTON, Mass. – Bishop Feehan was just three outs away from scoring an upset on the road of Oliver Ames.

But the Tigers showed just how quickly they can change a game with their offense. Three straight hits resulted in two runs and a tie game, sending the game to extras.

And in extra innings, Oliver Ames needed just two innings to breakthrough, earning a 3-2 walk-off win over the Shamrocks in nine innings.

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“I give my guys a lot of credit to come back in that seventh inning,” said OA head coach Joe Abarr. “[Feehan starting pitcher Colin Gauther] did a phenomenal job, he was mixing pitches and getting ahead of almost every batter and I could tell it was getting to our guys.

“Around the fourth or fifth inning it kind of occurred to me, in terms of coming from behind, we haven’t done it a lot. But looking back, it didn’t matter because our focus all season has been winning every pitch and treat every at-bat as the same. We had some guys step up and do the job.”

Gauthier tamed the Tigers through the first six innings, allowing just four hits and issuing one walk. And of those five baserunners, only Sean O’Brien (double) reached past third.

But Matt McCormack’s double to lead off the seventh inning gave the Tigers the spark they needed. McCormack had singled back in the second inning but was picked off at first. A half inning later, Feehan capitalized on that momentum and scored the game’s first run.

“I just didn’t let it get to me,” McCormack said of the second inning pickoff. “Coach came over and told me to shake it off. We knew the pressure was on the pitcher in the seventh inning so I just tried to make contact and put the ball in play. I was seeing it well and my timing was pretty good.”

With McCormack on second, junior Jake Erlich collected his first hit with a single into right field. That was enough for McCormack to sprint around third to bring OA within a run, down 2-1.

Abarr then called upon sophomore Jacob Levine to come in and pinch hit. Despite not playing all game, Levine answered the call in impressive fashion. The sophomore got a hold of one and ripped a deep shot to the gap in right-center field. Pinch runner Ezra Coyne came racing around from first to tie the game and Levine was into third with a stand up triple with no outs.

OA couldn’t get the winning run across though as Gauthier got three straight outs without the ball leaving the infield, sending the game to extras.

OA starter Michael Mulrean didn’t skip a beat in either the eighth or ninth innings. He got two fly balls to center and then made a nice play on a slow grounder for an unassisted out. In the top of the ninth, Mulrean sandwiched his 10th and 11th strikeouts around a 6-3 ground out.


McCormack was once again the catalyst for OA in the bottom of the ninth. His patience paid off, drawing a leadoff walk. A one-out single from Nick Zwerle advanced McCormack to second.

“[McCormack] stepped up for us early in the year as a DH and then he had a slump where he was struggling a little bit,” Abarr said. “He took a great batting practice the other day, he was all over the ball in our scrimmage against Brockton. After that scrimmage, I told him he was going to be the DH for us and he really stepped up for us. He could have let that [pickoff] situation break him but he didn’t, he showed a lot of mental toughness.

Junior CJ Deveau, who entered the at-bat 0-for-2 on the day, tried to lay a bunt down on the first pitch but it went foul. Three pitches later and the junior drove a shot to center field just out of the reach of the outfielder and McCormack sprinted his way to the plate for the walk-off win.

“I was just thinking about having runners on second and third, and I was hoping CJ could put one down, put some pressure on the third baseman and make a play,” Abarr said of the original bunt call. “He struggled during his first couple at-bats but he did a nice job grinding through there. He could have counted himself out and said it wasn’t his day but he came through with an unbelievable hit for us.”

Feehan took the lead in the top of the third inning. Back to back singles put runners on first and second but a sacrifice bunt attempt turned into an out when the ball hit the batter. A chopper got just through the gap on the left side allowing Joe Castano to come home and score for the first run. Mulrean induced an infield fly and pop up to right to escape without further damage.

The Shamrocks capitalized on a pair of OA mistakes in the fifth inning to double their lead. Castano reached on an infield single and took second on an errant throw. He took third on an infield groundout and then came home to score on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

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Beyond those chances, Mulrean had his way with the Shamrocks lineup. He allowed just five hits, only one of which dropped in shallow center field. He retired the side in each of the first, second, fourth, eighth and ninth innings. He had a pair of strikeouts in the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, and nine innings. He had just one walk all game.

“And he was ready to go back out there for the 10th inning if we needed it,” Abarr said of Mulrean. “He’s one of our most reliable strike throwers. He was dealing for us and he battled for us. He treats himself like a softball pitcher, if he could he would pitch every single game.”

Oliver Ames baseball (14-7) advances to the D2 South quarterfinal round and will host #14 Nauset (7-12), who upset #3 Whitman-Hanson, 3-0, in the first round. The Tigers will welcome Nauset to Frothingham on Tuesday at 4:00.

Bendanillo Career High Lifts Mansfield Over Feehan

Mansfield girls basketball
Mansfield junior point guard Mady Bendanillo scored 15 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead Mansfield to a come from behind victory over Bishop Feehan. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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MANSFIELD, Mass. – Trailing by two points entering the fourth quarter, Mansfield knew that it would need a spark on the offensive end to come out on top against non-league rival Bishop Feehan in Friday night’s meeting in the James Albertini Gym.

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The Hornets put the ball into the hands of junior point guard Mady Bendanillo and she delivered, personally outscoring the Shamrocks 15-12 in the final eight minutes. With Bendanillo leading the way, Mansfield, which had scored 36 points over the first three quarters, put up 30 as a team in the fourth.

Bendanillo finished with a game- and career-high 22 points and added five assists to lead the Hornets to a 66-50 victory over Feehan, which head coach Mike Redding said afterwards was his first coaching win against the Shamrocks.

“She put on a show tonight,” said Redding of Bendanillo. “She was money at the free throw line (9-of-10 in the fourth quarter), hit some big threes, and handled the ball. I think she played more minutes than anybody and never gets tired, never takes a possession off, and she’s definitely coming into her own getting confidence scoring.”

He added, “We know Meg’s going to get some points inside, Ann will hit some threes, but when Mady goes for double digits then we become a really good basketball team.”

Bendanillo got the fourth quarter started with a three-pointer to give the Hornets a one-point edge. After she hit a pair of free throws, junior Maggie Danehy got into the act with a baseline drive and finish to make it 43-38. Feehan scored, but Ann Maher (12 points and four assists) nailed a step-back three from the left wing to push the lead to six.

The speed of Bendanillo allowed her to break the Feehan press and turn any rebound into a quick break and her ability to get to the rim led to five different trips to the line in the quarter. She buried a three (her third of the night) off a Steph Kemp assist for a 51-43 lead then assisted on a Maher three that pushed the lead to nine.

Meg Hill (14 points and 10 boards) had a pair of baskets in the fourth, one off a Maher assist and the other on a putback, and Danehy added a layup, as the Hornets stormed to the final whistle.

“It was just a lot of different contributions when we needed it,” said Redding about the difference on this night compared to other meetings with Feehan in the past. “Where in the past we may have gone flat for a couple minutes and no one would make a play. Tonight we had a bunch of kids making plays to extend it and make it comfortable.”

The game looked similar to recent meetings between the two teams midway through the second quarter. With the Hornets struggling to make shots and with Hill, who had kept Mansfield in the game with eight points in the first quarter, on the bench with her second foul, Feehan built a 24-12 lead and looked poised to break the game wide open.

Instead of the game getting out of hand, the Hornets grabbed hold of the momentum and closed the half with a 14-4 run. Erin Daniel (seven points) drained a three that cut the lead to seven and Bendanillo followed with a steal and layup and then a three off an assist by her twin sister Kara.

After a Kemp steal, Kara Bendanillo scored her only basket of the night to tie the game at 26-26. Although Feehan added a bucket to lead at the break, it was the Hornets that went into halftime happier.

“When Meg got her second [foul], we sat her and said okay we just have to survive these last two [minutes] and we went on an 8-0 run with the subs,” Redding explained. “That really kind of set the tone going into the second half.”

He continued, “All of a sudden we have that run and it’s a ballgame and we came out with some confidence to start the second half.”

Sydney Mulkern hit a three after the break, her only points of the game, to give Mansfield its first lead since it was 2-0. Nicole Smith (15 points) answered with a three for the Shamrocks, but Maher stepped into a kick out pass by Hill to bury a three on the next possession. Daniel added four points in the quarter to keep the Hornets within two heading to the final eight minutes.

“It was a great game,” said Redding. “We’ll have out hands full over there and this will probably end up being the first of three of them. So, they’re all going to be fun to watch. It’s a high level of basketball for both teams.”

Mansfield (4-1, 2-1) will get a few days off before facing Franklin on Dec. 28 with a rematch against Bishop Feehan slated for Jan. 3.

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KP Advances With Extra Innings Win at Feehan

King Philip softball
KP catcher Bri Lacy pounces on a foul pop up to get the Warriors out of a bases laded jam in the bottom of the fifth inning against Bishop Feehan. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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When the pitch hit Bri Lacy’s glove, the King Philip players and fans leapt to their feet in celebration only for it to be called a check swing. The game continued, but unlike in the seventh when Bishop Feehan rallied for a tying run that forced extra innings, Elise Pereira reached back for a little extra on the next pitch and this time there was no doubt.

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The strikeout, only the third of the game for KP pitchers and first of the game for Pereira, sealed an 8-7, eight-inning, two-hour and 15-minute marathon win for the Warriors in a Div. 1 South first round contest that had enough twists, turns, comebacks, and game-winning plays for an entire playoff run.

“This was two teams refusing to lose,” said KP coach Norm Beauchemin. “Fortunately, we didn’t let what happened in the seventh inning bother us in the eighth inning. The kids didn’t give up; they didn’t let it get them down and they came back. “

Pereira added, “You’ve just got to forget. If it’s a bad call, let it go and you’ve just got to get the next one. We battled so hard. I’m so proud of my team right now.”

KP needed plenty of resiliency to pull out the win and avoid a three-game sweep against the Shamrocks (who won 10-5 and 7-5 in the regular season).

The Warriors led 7-6 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a bad bounce put a Feehan runner on with an infield single. The pinch runner stole second but Pereira appeared to end the game with a nasty changeup only to have the umpire keep his arm fixed to his side. A couple pitches later, Jess Levesque lined a single to center to tie it.

Feehan’s comeback was short-lived, as the bottom of the KP order sparked a rally in the top of the eighth.

With one out, Lacy was hit by a pitch, Sydney Phillips dropped down a perfect bunt single and Meg Gorman was hit by Feehan pitcher Sarah Magro. Hailey McCasland chopped a bouncing ball to short with the bases loaded that was not fielded cleanly and gave the Warriors a one-run edge.

In order to beat the Shamrocks, KP needed everyone in the lineup to contribute at one point or another. It started in the first with Gorman beating out a double to open the game. Nicole Carter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate the first run and Brooke Taute brought in two more with a single to center.

Jenn Hutnyan threw a clean first inning and then helped her own cause with an RBI single to bring in Gorman in the second for a 4-0 lead.

Feehan fought back with two homers in the next two innings, including a solo shot by Julia DaCosta that tied the game at 4-4. In the fourth, KP regained the lead when Gorman singled and then stole second. With McCasland at the plate, the Feehan defense was aligned so that the centerfielder was forced to cover the steal. The ball got through and Gorman raced all the way home.

Again, Feehan battled right back. A pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position with two outs for DaCosta and Beauchemin made the decision to intentionally walk the Shamrocks power hitter. Magro followed with an unintentional walk to tie it and then a wild pitch gave the Shamrocks their only lead of the game at 6-5. Pereira took over and got a line drive to Phillips in center to end the inning.

“She’s got a lot of grit,” said Beauchemin of Pereira. “That whole junior class has got a lot of grit. This is a team that when they were freshmen could have made the playoffs…they were that good.”

There was no quit in the Warriors. KP rallied for two more in the next frame. Pereira battled for a lead off walk and Jess Bonner dropped a bloop down the right-field line. Carter picked up her second RBI with a base hit to right and Lacy drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI-groundout.

“I think they’re just mentally tough,” said Beauchemin. “Last year we had three seniors who were really, really tough and they fed it to everyone else. These guys are mentally prepared…they’re more focused. They know it’s crunch time.”

The drama continued in the bottom of the fifth when Feehan loaded the bases for DaCosta with two outs. She swung at the first pitch and popped it up off the end of the bat and Lacy was quickly out from behind the plate to make a sliding catch that got the Warriors out of the jam.

“Everybody has to be in the game because the ball always finds the person who’s not. It’s huge and everyone was hitting,” said Pereira.

When the final out was finally recorded, gloves and arms flew into the air. It felt like a game that could have been played in the sectional final rather than the first round and the players, many of whom were important contributors on a state title team last spring, reacted like it was a final.

“I’m pumped,” said Pereira with a wide smile. When asked about taking on top seed Silver Lake in the next round, Pereira responded, “We’re going to go get them.”

King Philip (18-6) will have a quick turnaround, traveling to Kingston to take on the Lakers on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Resilient Bulldogs Beat Feehan In Double Overtime

Canton hockey
Canton’s Ryan Nolte fires a shot in the first period against Bishop Feehan. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 
BROCKTON, Mass. – A lot of teams would have panicked being down 2-0 halfway through a playoff game, especially one without a ton of tournament experience.

But not these Canton Bulldogs.

#6 Canton erased a two-goal deficit, survived being down a man for a third of the first overtime period and scored the game-winning goal less than a minute into double overtime to get a 3-2 win over #3 Bishop Feehan.

Sophomore Ryan Nolte scored 48 seconds into the second overtime period – his second goal of the game – to give the Bulldogs the win.

“The word is resilient…these guys are resilient,” said Canton head coach Brian Shuman. “We saw it just at the end of the season when we battled back after being down 3-1 to Boston Latin. This is arguably the most resilient team I’ve ever coached in over a decade here. We know we’re not the most talented but there’s something about this team, they just don’t get rattled when we get down. I can’t say enough things about the entire performance.”

It seemed the momentum was fully on the side of the Bulldogs after cutting the deficit in half in the second period and finding the equalizer just over five minutes into the third period.

The Bulldogs had a pair of power play chances but that’s when the momentum changed. After 45 seconds of a man advantage opportunities, Canton was whistled for a slash to make it 4-on-4 with 2:32 to play. Canton killed 46 seconds of Feehan’s power play.

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With just two minutes to play, there was a wild swing when Canton freshman Johnny Hagan ripped a shot off the crossbar that appeared to cross the line, sending the Bulldogs into celebration mode. The ref immediately waived no goal, Feehan went racing the other way and Canton’s players had to scramble back. It ended up being Hagan that sprinted back in time to thwart the chance.

A minute later, Canton was whistled for just its third penalty of the game with 1:02 to play, giving the Shamrocks a man advantage for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs didn’t blink though, and sent the game into overtime.

Feehan had the 4-on-3 power play for 28 seconds to start the first overtime. The Bulldogs were able to kill that but were whistled for another penalty with 2:48 to play. Not only was Canton able to kill that one as well, but senior defenseman CJ Martin had the best chance. He blocked a shot, raced in, deked around a defenseman but his backhand attempt was wide.

That sent the game into double-overtime and into a 3-on-3 situation. The Bulldogs rolled out Hagan, Nolte and senior defenseman Jackson Maffeo.

“If we need a stop at the end of the game, Johnny Hagan is out there,” Shuman said. “If we need a goal at the end of the game, Johnny Hagan is out there. He’s a freshman but he plays like a senior. I can’t tell you how many times at the end of games this year, he’s out there and makes a big play for us. It was a no brainer getting him out there.”

Bishop Feehan had the first opportunity but Canton goalie Quinn Gibbs came up huge. Shamrock senior forward Kyle Browne raced into the offensive zone and released a shot. Gibbs made the save with his mask, the rebound went right back to Browne, but his second bid was also turned aside by Gibbs.

Hagan raced up the other way and unleashed a wrist shot but his shot was kicked aside. Browne came back the other way but Nolte and Hagan combined to take possession back. Hagan then found Nolte streaking up the right side. The sophomore crossed over the blue line, stepped around the defenseman, faked his shot before switching to his backhand and depositing it past the Feehan goalie.

“Quinn, huge two saves there…Ryan Nolte, he just has a flair for the dramatic,” Shuman said. “He just loves to play in games like this. He’s exhausted, he’s out there a long time but he went and tried one more time and man, what a move.”

“Coach was telling me to dump it in but I saw I could make a move on the kid so I went around him and tucked it in,” Nolte said. “He tried to step up so I just went out wide on him. I knew I was going to go with the back hand once I got around the defenseman.”

Feehan originally took the lead in the first minute of the game. Josh Nelson sent his shot from the blue line wide off the boards, the bounce finding Connor O’Brien in front for an easy tap in.

Down 2-0, Canton didn’t panic and continued to battle back.

Canton nearly had the equalizer midway through the first when Mike Dadasis fired a shot that was partially stopped but the puck sat on the goal line behind Feehan goalie Derek Dattero but O’Brien was the first to it to prevent it from crossing.

Feehan had the top two chances to start the second period. First, John Anghinetti had his one-timer turned aside after a nice pass from Jason Sullivan. Just over five minutes into the period, the Shamrocks capitalized on a turnover from a Canton defenseman. Browne raced in, centering a pass for Jack Callahan’s tip in in front.

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The Bulldogs got life just over the five minute mark when the Shamrocks were whistled for a cross checking penalty, just a seconds after killing a holding penalty.

After cycling the puck around, it eventually bounced out to Maffeo, who settled the puck and then stepped into a slap shot that rocketed through traffic and left Dattero with no chance at a save.

“By far, these first two playoff games are the best two games I’ve ever seen him play,” Shuman said of Maffeo. “He was phenomenal tonight defensively. He got that huge goal. That’s why he’s out there, that’s why he’s the league MVP, that’s why he’s who he is. I can’t say enough good things about Jackson, he really has anchored that defensive unit.”

“We just knew we had to play our game,” Nolte said. “We knew we were the better team, they were good but we had some good chances we just hadn’t scored. Jackson scored that big one to get us going.”

Canton nearly tied the game just before the end of the period when Martin tossed a shot in front that Tommy Kilduff got control of and lifted a backhand shot, but Dattero made a nice save to keep it out.

Three minutes into the third period, Hagan faked out a defenseman to get a chance but his back hand was just wide. On a power play chance, junior Nick Allen had his shot from the blue line whistle just wide as well.

The Bulldogs finally broke through to tie the game on the power play. Martin fired a shot that was saved but the rebound was left in the crease and Nolte pounced, pushing it across the goal line to tie the game.

“He was a fourth liner that didn’t see the ice at all in the tournament a year ago so this is his real first state tournament action,” Shuman said of Nolte. “For him to step up and be the player he has been this year, it’s just a testament to how good of a player he is. He has those intangibles that you just can’t teach. He really is someone that has a knack for the game and you saw that on the last play.”

Canton hockey (16-4-3) advances to the D2 South Semifinal to take on #2 Medway. The Bulldogs will play the Mustangs on Tuesday, at 5:30 at Gallo.

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Young Hornets Gain Experience in Loss to Feehan

Mansfield girls basketball
Mansfield battled defending state champion Bishop Feehan, but the Shamrocks proved to be too much in the second half and pulled away for a 14-point win. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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MANSFIELD, Mass. – Coming into the season, Mansfield coach Mike Redding knew that he had a talented roster, but also a young one that would need to be tested against top competition to be ready for a tournament run at the end of February.

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On Thursday night, the Hornets hosted defending Div. 1 state champion Bishop Feehan in a rematch of last season’s South semifinal. It was an exclusion game, so it would not count against Mansfield’s end of season record, but would provide a test against a team that will most likely stand in the way of the Hornets bringing home silverware this season.

Mansfield showed both how talented it is and how much further it has to grow this year, as Feehan broke open a six-point halftime lead and pulled away for a comfortable 63-49 victory at the James Albertini Gym led by seniors Katie Nelson and Emily Miccile, who both scored 18 for the Shamrocks.

“They’re still the team to beat,” said Redding, “but for a half we were able to play with them toe-to-toe, you’ve just got to do it for 32 minutes. You’ve got to put the ball in the basket pretty consistently to have a chance to win.”

Early in the game, Mansfield was able to score consistently and hung with the Shamrocks. Miccile scored eight in the opening quarter but was mostly matched by Hornets junior center Meg Hill, who had six points and was able to get space in the paint against a smaller Feehan lineup. Maggie Danehy (seven rebounds) popped out on one play to run a high-low game with Hill and tossed a perfect pass for a layup.

Nelson and Miccile closed the first with back-to-back threes to regain the lead at 15-11. The pattern continued in the second with the teams combining for 36 in the quarter. Nelson caught fire for the visitors, scoring 10 points, including an acrobatic scooped layup plus the foul to make it 34-24.

Hill remained a force in the second with six more points, including a short jumper in the lane off one of Jen Peel’s five assists. Mady Bendanillo closed out the half with a transition layup to close the gap back to six and give the hosts momentum going into halftime.

In the opening game of the season, Mansfield limited Foxboro to only 25 points and shut down Warriors star Ashley Sampson, but on Thursday, Feehan had too many weapons to stop, despite Mansfield switching between several different defensive looks.

“We tried some different stuff (box-and-one, 3-2, 2-3) you can only cover so many things and they make you pay for every little mistake you make,” said Redding.

In the second half, it was Feehan that made a defensive change that proved to be decisive. Miccile was guarding Peel throughout but in the third quarter started to get closer and deny her the ball. Peel had five in the third, including a step-back jumper over Miccile, but that ended a 12-2 Feehan run that had extended the lead to as many as 14.

“It goes up and down and all of a sudden they’re pulling away,” Redding explained. “We had some decent looks and we’re not making them and they’re making almost everything we left open and then they have kids off the bench making shots.”

The more aggressive defensive look from the Shamrocks also made it more difficult to get Hill involved. She would only have four points after the break, finishing with 16 and five rebounds.

Redding said, “They made things very difficult. Miccile on Jen, she’s just big and long. Jen’s the best person getting it to Meg, but we had a hard time getting it to Jen so she could get it in there.”

While Nelson is the 1,000-point scorer and the headliner, Miccile made several big plays down the stretch to seal the win. After Peel (13 points) drilled a three that cut the lead to 11, Mansfield came through with a defensive stand but Miccile picked off a pass and took it in for an uncontested layup.

“The turnovers we made tonight, we didn’t make many but when we did it led to fast breaks like Miccile gets three fast break layups that were just back-breakers,” Redding remarked.

Peel and Hill combined for 29 of Mansfield’s 49 points and junior Ann Maherchipped in with five points. Kara Bendanillo and Stephanie Kemp added two apiece. Redding knows that there is still a long way to go to challenge the Shamrocks in the tournament, but that his team will benefit from this early season challenge.

He said, “For us, this is a dress rehearsal for March. I think we learned some things we can do and what we can’t afford to do.”

Redding continued, “I think we grew up tonight, found out some of the weaknesses we have to address, but I think we’ll be a better team going forward.”

Mansfield (3-1, 3-0) will play in the Duxbury Holiday Tournament next week with a first round game against Marshfield on Tuesday.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.