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Saints come from behind to edge
out the Storm
The Advocate
With less than a minute left in regulation, Wednesday night's game came down to sophomore forward Jackie Cannon sinking two free throws to seal the deal.
Cannon came through and the Lady Saints (9-14 overall and 5-6 in the Southern Region) walked away with a 75-74 victory over the Chemeketa Storm (9-13, 2-9). Not bad considering the beating the Storm put on the Lady Saints on Jan. 22 in Salem when they won 92-75. That was actually the last time the Storm won, who are now riding a six-game skid.
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After a sloppy start where the Lady Saints gave up 17 first half points to turnovers, they were able to pick it up in the second half and kept up with the Storm.
Although the Storm led by as many as 11 points during the first half, the score teeter-tottered throughout the game with six different lead changes the first half and seven during the second half, which included a total of nine ties.
Cannon, who ended the game with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds, had no points more important than the final two from the charity stripe with less than 30 seconds to play. She said she wasn't nervous even though the outcome of the game was riding on it. "There was a lot of pressure, but it's something I do every day," Cannon said moments after the game. "My whole bench was supporting me so it made it easy."
Near the end of the game the women were alive and energetic, fighting for each possession and for the lead over the Storm.
UCredit the Storm, who moved the ball well but were frustrated by the strong offense of the Lady Saints in the second half. MHCC was led by freshman backup point guard Maria Nolan, who scored a team-high 20 points, which included 5-of-10 shooting (one was a three-pointer) from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
"She (Nolan) was tremendous for us," head coach Larry Davis said. "When her confidence is going, she's a very tough player. When her confidence is low, it's a long night. It was the best game of her career at Mt. Hood."
Sophomore guard Charlie Neilan was the only other Lady Saint to chip in with double figures with 13 points.
The Storm were led by 6'1'' sophomore center Erin Stephens who lit up the stats sheet with a double-double of her own and game highs 23 points and 14 rebounds, including six offensive. Freshman guard Janelle Weiss added 17 points, while Danielle Padilla chipped in with 16.
With just under 20 seconds left in regulation, one of the many highlights came when the Lady Saints launched a full-court pass to Nolan for an easy bucket to put the Saints up 73-69. The Storm refused to go away and quickly sank a long three-ball from the hot-shooting Padilla. A series of fouls favored the Lady Saints who eventually put away the nail-biting finish. That included a foul by freshman point guard Emily Burch who fouled the Storm's Weiss on a three-point attempt. She went to the line with less than a second left and hit all three free throws.
"This game was a big win for us," Cannon said. With three games left in the regular season and the Lady Saints only trailing the Southwestern Oregon Lakers by one game for the number four seed in the Southern Region, it has made things even more interesting.
"It's up in the air," Cannon said. "Everyone is fighting for those spots."
Davis added, "We know the severity of each game. We know obviously that our work is cut out for us, but we're up for the challenge."
The Lady Saints look to make a run at the postseason with a game Saturday against the rival Clackamas Cougars. The same Cougars (20-2, 10-1) are ranked No. 1 in the NWAACC poll.
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