JAY – The Jay Tigers made one slight change after trailing 12-2 late in the first quarter Monday night.
With leading scorers Kaylie DeMillo and Sara Fetterhoff momentarily neutralized with an aggressive triangle-in-two defensive scheme, Jay coach Chris Bessey put forth a challenge to the rest of the team.
Junior guard Jessica LaBrecque responded to Bessey’s plea by draining all 12 of her points in the second quarter as the Tigers went on a scorching 52-14 run and ran away with a 67-43 victory over the Livermore Falls Andies.
With the Andies (4-13) up by 10, DeMillo hit a layup and a pair of free throws to close the gap to six. LaBrecque then opened the second quarter by nailing a jumper from the outside. A pair of DeMillo drives knotted the score at 14 before LaBrecque and a tenacious Jay press heated up the Tigerdome.
LaBrecque buried a 3-pointer to give Jay a 17-14 lead. She followed that up with a basket from the top of the key and another trey, this time from the corner, and Jay’s advantage grew to 24-14.
“She was the key to the game,” said Bessey. “She’s got a great shot. She has the best jump shot in the school when she shoots with confidence.”
A LaBrecque hoop in the lane increased the Tigers’ lead to 11 points. From there, DeMillo took over as she sank a pair of 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer to end the half and give the Tigers (12-5) a 33-17 lead.
DeMillo finished the half with 14 of her game-high 28 points. Fetterhoff added 15 as the duo combined to score 27 of the Tigers’ 33 points after the break. Fetterhoff opened the third quarter with a pair of buckets inside while DeMillo scored in a variety of ways, including a court-length drive after a rebound, a turnaround in the lane and another trey just seconds before the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter with Jay up 50-26.
“I liked the shots we were getting,” Bessey said of his team’s play early. “We were getting good shots, they just weren’t falling.”
“It always takes a little while,” added DeMillo. “We got them a little more frustrated and we were able to finish more.”
The Tigers certainly finished strong and dominated play the final three quarters.
“Right now we’re playing with confidence,” said Bessey. “I think the pressure defense with them missing (injured) Taryn Flagg, forced some turnovers.”
Marjorie DeBrosky’s 12 points paced the Andies. Ten of those came in the first half.
“We were looking for the upset,” said Livermore Falls coach Frank Donald. “We can play that way in stretches. (The triangle-in-two) worked well for a quarter. Our starters can’t play the whole game unfortunately.”
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