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Last-Second Shot Doesn’t Fall For Red Raiders

Jamestown’s Marley Drake attempts to get by a Lancaster defender during Tuesday’s ECIC Division 1 game at McElrath Gymnasium. P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

Holding a one-point lead with just over a minute left in the game, Jayson Jaskier admitted that he felt a sense of deja vu.

“I looked at my jayvee coach and said ‘This feels similar,'” the Lancaster head coach said after the game.

The last time the Legends and the Red Raiders met on Jan. 24, a last-second 3-pointer by Lauren Tracy gave Jamestown a 53-50 road victory.

A Jill Kindberg shot that went wide of the rim with just seconds left on the clock prevented history from repeating itself Tuesday night as the Legends escaped McElrath Gymnasium with a 44-42 Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division I victory.

“I thought we executed on the last play and got a good look,” Jamestown coach Tim Anderson said. “It just didn’t fall. That was the story of tonight.”

Jamestown’s Mickia Freeney, left, defends Lancaster’s Alissa Backert (5) during Tuesday’s ECIC Division 1 game at McElrath Gymnasium. P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

Coming off a 55-26 loss at Orchard Park on Saturday, Anderson was hoping his team could get back on track.

“Coming into tonight, we knew we had to deny their dribble penetration and stay in front of their girls,” he said. “We did and after the first couple minutes, we did a better job of that.”

The Red Raiders began the game hot, opening on a 10-4 run en route to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. But, the Legends clawed their way back in the second quarter, using a 10-2 run of their own to narrow to tie the game at 18 near the end of the second quarter. A three-point play by Mickia Freeney, however, gave Jamestown a three-point lead at halftime.

The Red Raiders struggled mightily from the field in the second half, however, converting just two shots in the third quarter. Tied at 30 heading into the fourth, Back-to-back 3s by Marley Drake, who finished with 9 points, and Freeney, who finished with a game-high 21 points, helped Jamestown regain the lead.

“Mickia was fantastic,” Anderson said. “She continues to grow as a player. As a freshman, you can see it in her before the game starts when she has the right mental attitude and focus. She’s going to be into it. Her defense turns to offense and she’s playing confident offensively and she’s going to be a tough player in our league for years to come. It’ll be fun to watch her grow as the years go on.”

“The last time we played, we knew it was Drake and Freeney,” Jaskier said. “Everything goes through them. We just knew that in a situation like that they are putting the ball in their hands not to necessarily score the final basket, but to make that decision to make that live play call as the game as going on.”

But, the Legends did not go away.

Seven straight points from the combination of Hope Harrington, Alissa Backert and Rachel Kamrowski gave Lancaster a 42-41 lead with just under two minutes left in the game before a trey by Kindberg regained the lead for Jamestown.

“It’s a battle every single time,” Jaskier said after the victory. “That’s how you want it to be with league games like that. You want it back and forth. You want it tight, you want it close and that’s the way our league kind of is this year. We have a couple of teams at the top and everyone else, it’s any night.”

Casey Mahoney’s bucket with 1:13 left, however, gave Lancaster the lead for good.

“That’s a good, tough team,” Anderson said. “They are better than what their record says and we’re very evenly matched by playing two extremely close games. It’s just a tough team. They play hard, they have some good size and have some guards that can play well and they outplayed us just by a little bit tonight.”

Jamestown now looks to break a three-game losing streak against Lockport on Thursday.

“As a team, we have to continue to grow and not get down on ourselves after losing a few in a row,” Anderson added. “We still have four regular-season games left and still have more to build toward the playoffs so we’re going to have to turn it around here soon.”

NOTES: Freeney finished the game with seven steals and nine rebounds. Drake led the Red Raiders with four assists.

LANCASTER (44)

Kamrowski 2 0 4, Backert 4 3 12, Szymusiak 0 0 0, Odrobina 2 0 4, Mahony 3 2 8, Callea0 0 0, Robinson 1 1 4, Harrington 6 0 12. Totals 18 6 44.

JAMESTOWN (42)

Drake 2 4 9, Kindberg 2 4 7, Tracy 2 0 5, Freeney 9 1 21, Holdridge 0 0 0, Spitzer 0 0 0, O’Brien 0 0 0. Totals 15 7 42.

3-point goals–Drake, Kindberg Tracy, Freeney 2, Backert, Robinson.

Lancaster 8 14 8 14 — 44

Jamestown 16 9 5 12 — 42

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