Previously, Northeast had beaten Albany 41-35 as they had a shaky start, a shaky finish, but came away with the win. They gave up 25 offensive boards and turned the ball over 21 times that game. But in their second meeting, they only gave up six offensive boards and only surrendered the ball 13 times.
One thing that helped was the return of Angela Standiford (shoulder), she was able to come off the bench and give Gerry Runde and Madelynn Mattson breaks. With Anne Schieber, Alba Vozmediario, and Ilenia Ricci able to come off the bench, NEN’s depth has gotten a lot better since the early part of the season.
Things started off well for NEN, as Blair Stoll hit Gerry Runde for three and Madelynn Mattson got a third chance putback and hit from the high post to put the Bluejays up 7-3 with 2:25 left in the first, forcing Albany into their first timeout. But then Abby Landon, who had a breakout game against Worth County, hit an inside shot after Gabby Newman got loose on a drive, and then Newman hit a guarded three and a guarded shot from the left wing to put Albany up 10-7 after one.
So far, the game followed the script of the first game, where NEN fell behind 15-8 and then fought back to take the lead in the second quarter and made it stand up. Gerry Runde hit Madelynn Mattson inside, and she hit two free throws and Paige West followed with a backdoor layup to put NEN back up 11-10. Gabby Newman went backdoor to put Albany back in front, but Makayla Adwell hit a drive and Gerry Runde hit Madelynn Mattson inside to put NEN up 14-12 at the 5:09 mark.
The Warriors were able to keep up with Northeast for much of the second quarter, as the Bluejays fell into a rash of hacking and fouling and Albany was able to score their next five points from the line to go up 17-16 at the 3:10 mark of the half. Paige West hit Blair Stoll for three to restore order; then, Blair Stoll skipped one to Paige West on the left baseline to make it 21-17. Gabby Newman went coast to coast to cut Albany’s deficit to 21-19, but Madelynn Mattson hit a free throw and then Paige West went coast to coast, ran over Kayce Messner, got the call on a charge/block, and hit both free throws to put NEN up 24-19 at the break.
Makayla Adwell, who was quiet in the first half, came out of the gate with two quick baskets to put the Bluejays up 28-21 to start the third quarter. But just like in the Worth County game, Abby Landon threatened to bring Albany back as she scored from inside and then stepped out and hit a 3-pointer to make it 28-26 again. Gerry Runde got an offensive board and got it to Madelynn Mattson and Blair Stoll hit Madelynn inside to make it 32-26 again to put the Bluejays out of harm’s way again.
Albany called a timeout to try to stop the bleeding, but then a five point play from the Bluejays broke their backs. First, Albany tried to trap Paige West on the right sideline, only for Paige to get it to Makayla Adwell, who found Madelynn Mattson on the weak side baseline to make it 34-26. Madelynn drew the foul, but missed the free throw. But Gerry Runde got the offensive glass, drew a foul and the putback, and banked home the three point play; all of a sudden, instead of a tight game, NEN was safely in control up 37-26.
Shortly afterwards, Gabby Newman got a frustration foul and her coach, Brooke Crawford, was not happy with it and benched her until midway through the fourth quarter, when the game was already decided.
The Warriors got a pair of breaks as a questionable foul call on Paige West turned into a four point swing. Paige West was in perfect position to rebound an errant NEN shot and put it back in, but the referees claimed she had fouled; the general rule of thumb is that the player who has position on rebounding situations is supposed to get the benefit of the doubt. That was her fourth foul, and little-used Delaney Shields converted on the other end for the Warriors to bring them back to within 37-28, a nine point deficit instead of 13.
But even that did not swing the momentum back in Albany’s favor as NEN got loose against Albany’s press and Gerry Runde found Alba Vozmediario, who had come in for West, loose underneath the basket. Alba converted a three-point play and NEN was back up by double digits at 40-28 after three.
Paige West returned to start the fourth quarter, and played smart, not picking up her fifth foul. Meanwhile, she hit Angela Standiford on the left baseline to make it 42-28 to start the scoring in the fourth. Landon hit a free throw for Albany, but Madelynn Mattson hit Alba Vozmediario on the right baseline and Paige West hit Madelynn Mattson inside to make it 46-29.
Even the return of Newman did not alter the outcome as Makayla Adwell split two green shirts and hit two free throws, and Gerry Runde hit Madelynn Mattson for a three-point play to make it 51-29 before both teams cleared their benches. Northeast’s ball movement was much better than the first game with Albany, and they were able to pick up their game in the second half. Until the 4:21 mark of the second half, NEN did not commit a single turnover or give up a single offensive board in the second half despite going up against Albany’s 2-2-1 zone press.
Madelynn Mattson had 20 points for NEN. Gerry Runde had 8, Makayla Adwell 7, Paige West 6, Alba Vozmediario 5, Blair Stoll 3, and Angela Standiford and Ilenia Ricci 2.
Madelynn Mattson and Blair Stoll had 1 block each.
Gerry Runde was flying to the ball all night, grabbing it, and ripping it away from defenders as she had a season-high 15 boards for the Bluejays. Blair Stoll had 8, Paige West 7, Makayla Adwell and Madelynn Mattson 5, Anne Schieber 2, and Angela Standiford and Alba Vozmediario 1 each.
Gerry Runde had 6 assists, Paige West had 5, Blair Stoll and Madelynn Mattson 4, and Makayla Adwell and Angela Standiford 1. NEN had 21 assists Wednesday night, compared to 13 the first game.
Blair Stoll had 5 tips. Paige West had 3, Gerry Runde and Anne Schieber 2, and Makayla Adwell and Madelynn Mattson 1.
Paige West had 4 steals. Angela Standiford had 2, and Madelynn Mattson had 1.
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