VALLEJO – For nearly the entire game save the first quarter, Swett held a lead on St. Patrick-St. Vincent. But in the last twenty seconds, that all changed as St. Patrick-St. Vincent came up with two huge plays to sweep the rug out and come away with a 54-53 victory at home on Tuesday.
Kayla Revelo intercepted a pass from Veronica McGee in the backcourt and fired it to Ashmeen Sran for a game-winning layup with 5.8 seconds remaining, moments after Tameiya Sadler cut through the lane for a layup to make it a one-point deficit. After Sran’s bucket, the defense again collapsed on McGee, not allowing Swett to get it past the half court line. The players and small but loud crowd erupted after the final buzzer, as St. Patrick-St. Vincent (21-3, 6-3 TCAL) tied Swett (17-6, 6-3 TCAL) in the Tri-County League Rock Division.
“They play us well every time,” St. Patrick-St. Vincent coach Nadine Walker said. “This is a good game for us mentally. You could see the energy shift. We get that steal, or we get that layup. That’s what you try to get them to do. You can’t script that. That’s basketball.”
McGee and Sadler were the featured players in the match. Both 5’8” junior point guards entered the game leading their team in nearly every statistical category. McGee had averages of 18.8 points, 4.6 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game; Sadler had 17.4 points, 7.7 assists, 9.6 rebounds, 6.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.
McGee finished with 21 points – 15 in the first half – along with six steals, four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks; Sadler tallied 14 points – 10 in the fourth quarter – to go with 14 rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Sran stepped up big for the Bruins, netting 10 points in the second quarter and 15 for the game, and fellow senior Riley Madayag sank a trio of three-pointers in the first half as part of a 10-point night. The Warriors’ Mia Stewart had 10 points and 15 rebounds but was not a factor in the fourth.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent led for the first 5:30 of the game, but Swett finished the quarter strong and had a 15-9 advantage to start the second. The Bruins went on a run of their own to complete the first half, whittling what was at one time a nine-point deficit down to one, even taking a brief lead at 26-25.
The Warriors controlled the pace in the third and halfway through the fourth led 49-40. That’s when Sadler, who had been quiet in the scoring column, came alive. Her coast-to-coast layup made it 49-46 with 2:24 left, and less than a minute later a couple of free throws again reduced the margin to three. Following a turnover by Swett, Sadler scored on a drive with 50 seconds left to make it 51-50. McGee answered with a drive of her own 19 seconds later to set up the final, hectic sequence.
Inbounding after a timeout, Sadler passed it to Revelo, who handed it back to her. Sadler then dribbled to the other side, motored to the hoop, and kissed it off the glass for an underhanded layup with 18.6 seconds left.
Three defenders converged upon McGee as soon as she received the inbounds pass. She got to nearly half court where Revelo was waiting. Sran had separated in the meanwhile, putting her in perfect position when Revelo gobbled up McGee’s pass attempt. Sran didn’t hesitate to rush ahead for the game-winning basket, just ahead of a trailing defender.
Walker said of Sadler: “When she finds that sweet spot and figures out the speed of the opponent, the angle of the opponent, she adjusts her game. She takes a lot of hits that the refs usually call. I’ve heard (them say) ‘You can play through it’ more than once.”
The teams split the season series, with Swett winning on January 11th at home against the Bruins, 60-53. Each team has one conference game remaining, with the Warriors hosting Bethel on Friday and St. Patrick-St. Vincent welcoming El Cerrito on Thursday.
