Janice Luck says she was a very good free throw shooter in her day at Albright.
So watching the Lions, the team Luck coaches, miss 15 of their first 29 shots from the line was excruciating for her.
“It was tough because we could have had a bigger lead,” she said. “We missed so many in the first half. If you win shooting that badly from the line, you know you can do even better.”
Fortunately for Albright, Brady Wassel and Abby Gaffney each made a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds to help the Lions edge Alvernia 64-61 Saturday at Bollman Center.
Wassel and Gaffney, Albright’s two best free throw shooters, enabled the Lions (6-6 MAC Commonwealth, 11-7) to bounce back from a 29-point loss three days earlier at Widener.
Wassel made two with Albright clinging to a 60-58 lead, and Gaffney, a Berks Catholic grad, hit her two with 13 seconds left after Tyra Robinson’s 3-pointer had pulled Alvernia (3-9, 9-10) within one.
“I’m a senior, so hopefully I have the experience to shoot them with confidence,” Wassel said. “We shoot them all the time in practice. I just blocked out the noise. They were easy buckets.”
The Golden Wolves had two more chances to tie it after Gaffney’s free throws. Robinson missed an open 3 from the right corner and then, after Amina Rauf missed two from the line, Tamia Wessels hit the back of the rim from near midcourt as the horn sounded.
“I’m proud of my girls for executing the way they did and staying mentally focused in a tight game like that,” Alvernia coach Rayne Reber said. “Tyra hitting that 3 was huge and then she got a great look at another one. Even Tamia at the end.
“You can’t ask for better shots in those situations. They just didn’t fall.”
Playing without injured 6-1 center Cathryn Kramer, the Wolves surrounded Albright leading scorer Gabby Boggs with two and three defenders.
That freed Wassel, who scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. She picked up her offense also because Albright second-leading scorer Maggie O’Hare missed her second straight game because of academic reasons.
“Brady’s had a little (shooting) slump since the holidays,” Luck said. “Today was huge for her. She was huge for us. They were doubling and tripling Gabby. She took advantage of it, which was great. We absolutely need her to make up the gap.”
Wassel was part of a significant sequence when Albright held a 51-48 lead with six minutes to go. Boggs scored a layup off a pass from Rauf and was fouled. Gaffney rebounded the missed free throw and found Wassel for a baseline jumper, which put the Lions up seven.
“That play was huge,” Luck said. “It turned it around for us.”
It also was a sign of how the Lions dominated inside. They had a 53-37 rebounding advantage, and the 6-0 Boggs had 18 points and 16 rebounds.
“Not having Cathryn hurt us with rebounding,” Reber said. “We gave them too many second-chance opportunities.”
Boggs had a miserable 4-for-12 afternoon at the line after making nearly 70% of her free throws before Saturday. She also blocked two shots and had three assists.
Jordan Karmonick was sensational for Alvernia with a career-high 24 points and seven rebounds. Wessels had 11 points and Robinson had 10 points and five steals.
“It’s always a battle with them,” Wassel said. “It’s your crosstown rival. You always have to be ready to go. It’s a big game with a big crowd. It’s really fun.”
She had more fun than most. If Albright is to make a run in the conference playoffs, Wassel, a 5-10 senior from Lansdale Catholic, could be a key figure.
“Anyone can have a big night for us,” she said. “This is my last year. I’m trying to make the most of it.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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