Leading scorer Vazquez out with injury, Wildcats step up to win first round game
GARDNER- Even though the Gardner High girls’ basketball team had defeated South Lancaster Academy twice in the regular season, Monday night’s third meeting with the Crusaders had a much different vibe.
Out of the lineup with an ankle injury was Gardner’s talented guard Tati Vasquez, the leading scorer in Mid-Wach D, averaging 17.3 points per game.
But on their home court at LaChance Gymnasium, with Vasquez cheering from the bench in the opening game of the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament, the 21st seeded Wildcats rallied and cruised to a 54-26 victory over the 57th seeded Crusaders in front of an enthusiastic and vocal crowd.
Gardner advances to the D4 round of 32 on Thursday at No. 12 Carver at 6 p.m. And there’s more good news: Vasquez should be back in the starting lineup after the long bus drive south to Plymouth County.
“It stinks not playing, but I loved watching the girls win this game,” said Vasquez who twisted her ankle in the Wildcats’ previous game a week earlier and has been using crutches since.
“Tati is such a big part of our team, and this win was a confidence booster for us,” said Gardner coach Francis Phillips. “She’s a great teammate and she has stayed positive in her rehab since her injury. She’ll be back.”
The Wildcats, improving to 17-4, were led by junior guard Krista Bettez, who scored 18 points. Junior Emma McNamara also scored in double figures, netting 12, and junior Junia Alce added 9 while sophomore Allison Fitzsimmons scored 6.
The Crusaders, who finished the season at 11-9, were paced by their top player, Karleigh Collins, a terrific, tough-to-guard junior guard, with exceptional cross-over dribbling skills, who scored 17 of her team’s 26 points, including a trio of three-point shots.
“Karleigh is a great player, for sure and the team around her played hard,” said Phillips.
South Lancaster Academy sophomore Sophia Hough added 7 points.
After a slow start, with nearly three minutes of scoreless hoop and a long string of missed shots, the Wildcats pulled to a 10-2 first quarter lead, punched it up to 27-10 by halftime, and stayed in control throughout the game.
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“Once we got rid of the early nerves, and playing without Tati, we settled in and got confident and started shooting the ball well,” said Phillips.
Helping the Wildcats pull away early were clutch baskets from McNamara with a 3-pointer from the left wing, and a trey from junior Andrea Leger from the left corner to start the second quarter.
It was Gardner 20-2 with 3:10 left until halftime when the Crusaders’ Collins swished a jumper which was quickly answered by a Bettez runner sprinting into the baseline.
“Krista stepped up in this one, and Emma always does so much for us. But overall it was a team effort that was needed. Tati is such a big part of our team, so we just couldn’t replace her with one or two players,” said Phillips.
After intermission, the Crusaders’ Collins continued her hot shooting, firing up a 3-pointer her first time downcourt. But the Wildcats answered quickly on a putback basket down low by Olivia Powers and a layup by Alce, pulling Gardner ahead, 31-16 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
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And down the final stretch of the quarter, Alce powered inside for a layup as the clock ticked under two minutes, and Bettez, on a nifty drive after a fake in the middle lane, banked in another layup, lifting the Wildcats to a 37-20 lead, a comfortable 17-point margin entering the final frame.
About Carver, his team’s next opponent on Thursday, Phillips said, “They’re fast, good and play aggressive defense, and they have some good players, but so do we.” He added with a smile, “It’s a long drive to Carver, so I hope we get a good bus.”
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Players step up in leading scorer's absence, help Gardner to a victory
