Even though the Bishop Grimes girls basketball team did a lot of things wrong in the tense, chaotic homestretch of Thursday night’s game at Bishop Ludden, it still emerged with its biggest victory of the season.
The Cobras used spirit, toughness and tenacity to overcome those multiple errors and claw past the Gaelic Knights 46-44, improving its record to 7-3 in the process.
What made the win more important was what had taken place on Monday night. Ludden, 8-1 and no. 21 in the state Class B rankings, knocked off unbeaten, state no. 3-ranked Westhill 59-52, getting superb performances from Nicole Granteed (22 points) and Danielle Rauch (20 points) along the way.
Just three nights later, Grimes arrived in the Gaelic Knights’ gym, perhaps hoping that the Gaelic Knights would have a letdown after putting so much energy and emotion into beating Westhill.
Early on, that certainly proved true, as Ludden needed more than four minutes to earn a field goal. Grimes, still without injured guard Tina Hoag, had its own issues, but with back-to-back 3-pointers from Katrina Fandrich and Jordan Vaught, the Cobras grabbed a 17-9 lead early in the second quarter.
Ludden countered with a 10-0 run, but Grimes absorbed it and, by the third quarter, had reclaimed a 29-22 lead. Making things worse for the Gaelic Knights, Rauch, the team’s talented eighth-grade guard, picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench.
Despite this, Ludden battled back again, relying on its defense to frustrate Grimes and hold them without a field goal for more than four minutes in the fourth quarter. That was enough time for the lead to slip away as, with a banked-in 3-pointer from Rauch and a free throw from Granteed, the Gaelic Knights moved ahead 39-38.
Now they traded big plays – Katy McInerney hitting a 3-pointer for Grimes for a 41-39 lead, Granteed converting a three-point play seconds later to put her side back up 42-41, and Marissa Hartley answering with her own three-point play with 1:27 left. This left it 44-42 in the Cobras’ favor.
And then it got crazy.
After a Granteed free throw with 47 seconds left cut the margin to 44-43, Grimes was unable to add to its slim lead and, with 13 seconds left, Rauch was fouled. But she missed both foul shots.
Immediately fouled with 10.2 second to play, Vaught made her first free throw but missed the second. Again, Grimes fouled Vaught, who made her first foul attempt – but missed the second.
Now it was Vaught’s turn to go back to the line, with 5.4 seconds to play. Like Rauch, she only made one of the foul shots, taking the margin back to two, and off the miss, Granteed took the ball and, while driving to the basket, drew a foul with 2.1 seconds left.
With a chance to tie it, Granteed missed the first free throws, and her deliberate miss on the second chance turned the ball over. Grimes was able to run out the remaining clock and escape with the win.
Megan Costello led the Cobras with 13 points. Fandrich added eight points, with Hartley and Teresa Shattuck getting six points apiece. Ludden, despite 11 points apiece from Rauch and Granteed, ultimately paid for all of its misses at the charity stripe, making just eight of 21 attempts in the fourth quarter and 12 of 29 overall.
After playing Jordan-Elbridge and Solvay next week, Grimes will participate on Jan. 19 in the Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic at Onondaga Community College, meeting Cazenovia for a 3:30 tipoff. The boys Cobras will also play the Lakers as part of this event.
