Megan Cassavaugh Takes Charge to Spark Tigers; Worth County Beats Cards for 1st Time Since 2008

Megan Cassavaugh took a charge on defense and then Worth County's girls rallied to get their first win over North Andrew since 2008, when Chris Healy was coaching the Tigers. They pulled away for a 58-37 win, getting 24 points in the fourth quarter as Anna Gladstone went into bezerk mode in the second half, getting 19 out of her 21 points. Regan Allee had 15 and Kaylee McElvain 14 for the Tigers.

The first quarter could not have started off worse for the Tigers. Anna Gladstone and Kristin New picked up their first two fouls in the first three minutes of the game, and then Anna picked up her third a few minutes later. Meanwhile, North Andrew, which had beaten the Tigers twice in close games last year, pulled away to an 11-5 lead early in the second. North Andrew was slashing to the basket at will against Worth County's man to man, but Worth County finally stopped it with their 1-3-1 trapping zone. 

But all of a sudden, with Anna on the bench with three fouls, Worth County started getting the ball into Kaylee McElvain at will in the second quarter, as she had 10 of her 15 points as the Tigers erased their deficit and moved ahead to a 19-11 lead. Kristin New picked up her third foul during that stretch, but the Tigers kept coming as Regan Allee dropped a 3-pointer during that stretch. 

Long losing streaks have a way of dying hard, and North Andrew scored eight points, including a guarded three, in the last 1:07 of the half to knot it up at 19. Regan Allee hit a couple of threes early in the third, but North Andrew kept hanging around, trailing only 27-25 halfway through the third.

That was when Megan Cassavaugh took a perfect charge against a girl much bigger than her, preventing a game-tying layup. The North Andrew coach protested the call to no avail, and then all of a sudden, Anna Gladstone, who sat out the first four minutes of the third with her foul trouble, went into one of her bezerk modes, starting with drawing a pair of fouls and hitting three out of four at the line to make it 30-25. Then, Jenna Smith jumped a pass after Anna tipped it, and scored, and then Anna scored off a Kristin New steal with 3.6 seconds left, prompting an angry timeout from North Andrew's coach and putting Worth County up 34-25 after three.

But the Cards were in serious foul trouble trying to guard Anna Gladstone in bezerk mode, with the foul differential at 8-2 in Worth County's favor early in the fourth at one point. Merrideth Spiers hit Anna Gladstone inside, Regan Allee hit two free throws, and then Anna Gladstone hit Merrideth Spiers inside to make it 40-26. 

Normally, teams try to run the clock with the lead, but Worth County kept right on pulling away, with Anna hitting two free throws, an unguarded Regan Allee hitting a 3-pointer, and then Anna Gladstone getting two straight steals and Jenna Smith one to put Worth County up 51-26. North Andrew made a 9-2 run, getting the deficit down to 53-35, but then Jenna Smith hit Anna Gladstone inside, Regan Allee hit a free throw, and Anna scored off a steal to close the door on the red shirts.

Anna Gladstone had 21 points, Regan Allee 15, Kaylee McElvain 14, Jenna Smith 5, and Merrideth Spiers 3. But Megan Cassavaugh, who didn't score a single point, made the key play that swung the game in Worth County's favor when she took her charge on defense in the third quarter. Worth County outscored the Cards 31-12 after that play.