'Defense won the game for us': West Boylston tops previously unbeaten Sutton for Clark Small Schools title
WORCESTER — No matter what the venue, to beat the best, you must play your best. The West Boylston girls' basketball team can vouch for that, especially when the game opponent comes in the formidable form of undefeated Sutton and the setting is the Clark Tournament Small Schools final.
Saturday night the Lions brought their "A" game, leading for most of the title tilt before weathering a Sutton resurgence in the fourth quarter. West Boylston escaped with a thrilling, 49-47 victory before a large, vocal gathering at Clark University's Kneller Athletic Center.
The Lions (18-3) were led by senior long-range swish artist Maddie Pitro, who pumped in a game-high 20 points. She drained three 3-pointers, including a top-of-the key dagger to end the third quarter and give West Boylston its largest lead to that point.
Eighth grader Alicia Stone tossed in 11 points ,while classmate Hannah Kursonis added eight.
"This was just a great game, a game with lot of energy and good, solid team play," West Boylston coach Kelli McSweeney said. "Sutton is the top seed, and they're undefeated, so we knew they be a tough opponent. They're well coached, and they have a lot of great players.
"Our girls did a great job executing our game plan," McSweeney added. "We worked hard on defense, and we also focused on Ava Carroll, who is a great player for them. A lot of this also goes back to working on defense in practice, which we did this week. No matter what happens on the offensive end, if you can't stop the other team from scoring, you're not going to win."
"We had a lot of energy, but I think our defense won the game for us," senior guard Sammie Mullins said. "They were much bigger than us, but we battled. We boxed out. In the end, it proved to be an amazing game and totally different experience (playing on a college court in a prestigious tournament). Much different than playing in a regular game. And it's just so great to come back and win it this year."
Sutton (20-1) got a standout game from Carroll, a freshman center who was dominant at both ends of the court.
Carroll totaled 14 points before exiting the game with an injury to start the fourth quarter. Sophomore forward Claire Acocelli picked up the slack, netting 13 points. She hit two 3-pointers (for the game) and scored five big points to spark Sutton's comeback after Carroll went down.
The Lions went ahead for good late in the third quarter with an 8-1 outburst, keyed by Pitro, who scored all the points. Pitro's third bucket, the top-of-the key, buzzer-beating t3-pointer, increased West Boylston's advantage to 40-33.
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Though Pitro has scored more than 1,000 points in her high school career, the buzzer-beating trifecta will not be forgotten.
"I was just out there passing the ball around, waiting for the clock to run down and hoping someone would come set a screen and I could pass off." Pitro said. "But that didn't happen, so when there was like three seconds left, I just turned around and chucked it up and hoped that it would go in. I can shoot it from the outside or drive — it depends on the situation.
"Playing in the Clark Tournament was a really fun experience and a great way to end the season and go into the states," Pitro added.
Sutton's luck took a turn for the worse to start the fourth quarter when Carroll went down with her injury and was helped off the court. Meanwhile, the Lions tallied six straight points, four on back-to-back hoops by Pitro after Suzies turnovers, to grab their largest lead of the game, 46-33.
Sutton, however, showed its mettle down the stretch, putting together a 14-2 run to close to within 48-47 with less than 30 seconds to play. A free throw by Pitro accounted for the final margin.
Acocelli and senior Isabella Marois combined to score 10 points during the Suzies' comeback.
"I'm happy for our kids, especially the way they fought back, and they should be proud of that," Sutton coach John Doldoorian said. "All the credit goes to West Boylston, they created the turnovers. And we weren't getting it done offensively.
"We didn't play well, but they didn't give up, either. The sun will come up tomorrow, but we've got a lot to work on moving forward."
—Contact Craig Holt at sports@telegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: West Boylston girls' hoop tops previously unbeaten Sutton for Clark Small Schools title
