Maplewood hangs on 34-30 against scrappy Saegertown rally

5 days ago 2

SAEGERTOWN — Steve Scott Gymnasium was treated to a scrappy affair on Monday night. The Maplewood Tigers and Saegertown Panthers battled for a Region 2 win through tough, physical play.

"It was a scrappy one. It's fun to see games like this," Saegertown girls head coach Nick Copeland said. "You know both teams are fighting and they both want the win really bad."

The Panthers rallied from down seven in the fourth, but after a missed last minute 3-point shot, the Tigers held on to win 34-30.

"Silly turnovers got us in a pinch, but these girls fight for every possession. They're a tough group of kids," Maplewood head coach Alisha Sheatz said.

Maplewood and Saegertown dug in and fought in the trenches, for a defense-heavy match. Saegertown took an early 8-3 lead, before a quick 9-0 run for Maplewood in the second gave the Tigers the lead.

With the game 12-8 in favor of Maplewood, the teams once again found themselves in a defensive match.

Jillian Mattocks stepped up for the Tigers' defense, pressuring Saegertown into mistakes that ended offensive looks.

"Jillian [Mattocks] is a great defender, stepping up trying to do the best she can," Sheatz said. "She's in different spots, new to the school, trying to figure out a new gig here. We're really grateful for everything she's provided for us."

Near the end of the second quarter, Maplewood held a one-point lead. As time winded down, Mattocks was part of a big collision near half court and was out of the game for a brief time.

With the Tigers rattled, Saegertown was able to steal the 15-14 lead at the break.

For the Tigers', their play coming out of the intermission has been a point for the team to work on throughout the season. On Monday, the team came out hard.

"I think one of our weak spots is the beginning of the third," Sheatz said. "These girls stepped up in the third quarter. We kept our heads and stayed strong."

Maplewood started scoring out of the gate and the Panthers got in their own heads.

"It's a matter of having that inner belief in yourself," Copeland said. "Every single one of them is capable of doing absolutely great things, it's just a matter of having that belief within themselves. When they go out there and they just play ball and don't worry about anything outside of the court, they're the greatest team in the world. It's a matter of putting it all together and believing it for four quarters and having that trust."

On their heels, the Panthers began to take fouls, leading to seven Maplewood free throws in the third.

"The free throw line is a big spot for us. We say that, defense and foul shots win games," Sheatz said.

Maggie Means was the benefactor of three of the seven free throws, she went 3-5 on the night.

Means was a big factor in Maplewood's victory, she was able to find open scoring lanes and was a big part of the Tigers' defense, finding several steals. Means led Maplewood with 15 points.

"Maggie Means is a great leader, she's always willing to step up for these younger kids," Sheatz said. "She's great at being able to attack a defense that will pile on top of her if she needs to. She sacrifices every part of her being to make this team as successful as it can be."

After Maplewood ripped the lead from the Panthers, the team needed a big fourth quarter.

Down nine, Copeland called back-to-back time outs and had his team focus in on the moment.

"In the fourth quarter we stopped worrying about everything else. Instead we focused on what we have control over and we went out there and showed a good effort," Copeland said.

Saegertown came out of the timeouts with new life, upping the aggressiveness and pushing Maplewood to its limit.

"It's good to see the growth and to see that they're not quitting on each other in tough moments, it's a sign of character," Copeland said. "For us in the past, you might see us lose a little bit of composure when somebody gets aggressive, but tonight no matter what happened we kept ourselves even-keeled no matter what was happening."

The Panthers clawed back to only a three-point deficit with under 30 seconds remaining.

After the bucket that brought them within three, the Panthers stole the ball back from the Tigers and looked for a 3-pointer to tie it. Saegertown found a shot from the right side, but the ball hit off the rim.

After a final foul shot, Maplewood held on to take the 34-30 win.

"I liked that we didn't give up," Copeland said. "We started off hot, but as the game went on Maplewood started to have a lot of momentum and we kept grinding and grinding. Sometimes in close ones, you just come up a little bit short."

Maplewood snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 5-6 overall and 3-1 in Region 2 play.

"Our goal from this point forward is focusing on teamwork, working together, putting together what we need to be successful in our region run," Sheatz said.

The Tigers face a non-region test on Thursday, as the team heads home to face Tidioute Charter at 7 p.m.

The Panthers fell in their fourth straight game, dropping to 3-6 overall and 2-1 in Region 2.

"We have ourselves a really tough region, every team can beat each other," Copeland said. "When we have close games like this, we need to come out on top."

Saegertown goes on the road Thursday to face Region 2 foe Rocky Grove at 7 p.m.

"When we go against Rocky Grove, we just need to do the things we're capable of," Copeland said.

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Maplewood (34)

Frazier 1 0-0 2, Means 5 3-5 15, Stevenson 1 1-2 3, Mattocks 2 0-2 5, Holeva 4 1-2 9.

Totals: 13 5-11 34.

Saegertown (30)

Rockwell 1 0-0 2, Newman 2 0-0 6, Muckinhaupt 1 5-6 7, Orosz 3 3-4 9, Gregor 2 0-0 6.

Totals: 9 8-10 30.

Maplewood 3 11 11 9 — 34

Saegertown 8 7 5 10 — 30

3-point goals: Maplewood — Means 2, Mattocks; Saegertown — Gregor 2, Newman 2.