MADISON TOWNSHIP — Mount Vernon answered Madison’s run with one of its own.
The Yellow Jackets erased a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit and completed the season sweep of the short-handed Rams with a 49-44 win at Madison Middle School on Thursday.
The game was tied 27-27 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter when the Rams (6-6, 2-5), who were playing without leading scorer Brooklynn Arnold, pieced together a 9-0 run to close the period and take a 36-27 lead into the fourth.
The Jackets (6-6, 3-4) responded with a 14-0 run and opened a 41-36 advantage with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
“We were fortunate because we got down by nine and all that momentum was going Madison’s way. A lot of times that will spell doom,” Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage said. “Our girls dug in and got some stops and were able to execute offensively and get some buckets.
“To say that 14-0 run was huge would be an understatement.”
Madison’s Rylie Schaffner scored five straight points on a layup and a 3-pointer to pull the Rams even at 41-41 with 2:48 remaining. A pair of runout layups by Mount Vernon point guard Jade Kennerly gave the Jackets a 45-41 lead with two minutes to play, before Madison’s Tara Andrews connected on a corner trey to pull the Rams within a point at 45-44.
Layne Lepley split a pair of free throws with 39.7 seconds left to give Mount Vernon a 46-44 advantage before Kennerly hit the front end of a one-and-one wth 10.1 seconds to play. Kennerly missed the second freebie, but the Rams couldn’t secure the rebound and the ball stayed with the Jackets. A pair of Audri Fiorilli free throws with 6.8 second left iced it.
“We built that nine-point lead and then we stopped moving and became stagnant on offense,” Madison coach Brian Davis said. “Defensively, we gave up some uncontested layups and a couple of big 3s.”
Mount Vernon’s Maggie Nussbaum connected on five treys, including a pair of triples in the fourth quarter as the Jackets outscored the Rams 22-8. The senior sharpshooter scored a a game-high 16 points.
“She came out aggressive tonight,” Savage said. “She can get hot like that.”
Kennerly, Peyton McCord and Macee Marcum each had seven points for the Jackets.
Schaffner topped the Rams with 14 points. Andrews had seven, while Leah Boggs added six.
The Rams were without Arnold, who injured her back recently and sat out for precautionary reasons. The junior is averaging 14 points a game.
“That’s a big loss for us,” Davis said. “We’re hoping to have her back soon, but in the meantime we need other girls to step up.”
