Rockland presses on for win Tigers force turnovers, get balanced scoring vs. Mustangs

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THORNDIKE – The Rockland High School girls basketball team had tried a full-court press during the first half of its 68-34 win over Mount View at the high school gym Tuesday night.

But like much of what it tried early in the game, the press didn’t work the way the Tigers wanted it to.

Rockland decided to have another go at it in the second half. This time, the visitors found success.

The Tigers turned a five-point halftime lead into a 20-point advantage by the end of the third quarter, keyed by 10 Mustang turnovers and seven points apiece from Annie Pennell and Lindsay Barnes.

Rockland (2-0) had three scorers in double-digits and two others with eight points apiece for a balanced attack. Barnes led the way with 17 points and went 8-for-10 from the field.

The Tigers shot a solid 25-for-49 (51 percent) but really shone in the third quarter when they made nine of 14 field-goal attempts. That coincided with a 12-0 run to open the period.

“We weren’t on top of it. We weren’t working together,” Barnes said of the team’s early attempt at a pressing defense. “We just picked up the intensity. We looked at the score and we were like, this is not right, we should be winning by more than this.”

Rockland started the second half with a Barnes jumper in the lane and a Caitlyn Grant 3-pointer for a 28-18 lead. Then the Tigers really heated up, as Grant (14 points) scored a fast-break layup off a pass from Caitlin Hynes, Pennell scored off a break, and Barnes converted off a steal, drawing a foul. She made the free throw for a 35-18 lead with just over five minutes left in the third.

Mount View’s Stephanie Mehuren (nine points, seven rebounds) ended the run when she put back an offensive rebound, and Jessica York drained a 17-footer, cutting the lead to 12. Pennell answered with a put-back of her own and Barnes scored off a Grant steal to make it 39-22.

“The third quarter hurt,” Mount View coach Eileen Ellis said. “It was just very frustrating. And then, [Rockland] couldn’t miss. We weren’t executing, we weren’t reversing the ball, and that’s what they were doing against us.”

Rockland played a 2-2-1 zone press, then fell back into a 1-3-1 zone. The defense sealed off the inside thanks in part to the Tigers’ height advantage. And the Mustangs struggled with perimeter shooting (0-for-10 from 3-point range).

Hynes led the rebounding effort for Rockland with nine to go with her 16 points. The Tigers had a 41-25 advantage on the boards.

Rockland was discouraged, however, with its free-throw shooting. The Tigers were 6-for-23 in the first half and made just 15 of their 36 tries overall.

The poor shooting helped keep the Mustangs in the game. They led twice early in the second quarter as Rockland missed seven free throws in a six-minute span.

“I think we thought we already had the game [in hand],” Pennell said. “That was a big mistake. We got an awakening at halftime and pulled it out.”

TIGERS 68, MUSTANGS 34

Rockland (2-0) Mount View (0-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Hurley 0 2 1 4 1 A. Miles 3 12 1 3 7

Grant 4 8 5 7 14 Hunter 0 2 4

Clark 1 3 0 0 2 Stevens 1 4 3

Felt 0 1 0 0 0 York 1 6 0 2

Oliver 0 0 0 0 0 L. Miles 1 2

Pennell 3 3 2 5 8 Mehuren 3 5 9

Dunton 0 4 1 5 1 Wooley 0 2 3

Barnes 8 10 1 5 17 Grotton 0 1 0

Hynes 6 10 4 8 16 Caler 1 6 3

Crupi 0 3 1 2 1 Gillette 0 1

Todd 3 5 0 0 8

Totals 25 49 15 36 68 10 46 14 23 34

Rockland 8 23 45 68

Mount View 8 18 25 34

3-pt. goals ? Rockland (3-4): Todd 2-2, Grant 1-1, Crupi 0-1; Mount View (0-10): Hunter 0-1, Stevens 0-1, Caler 0-1, Mehuren 0-1, York 0-2, L. Miles 0-4

Attendance: 200 (est.)

JV: Mount View 39-30