LANGDON – Senior Zoe Utton has played in many pressure packed games in her career and Tuesday night was yet another, as Fall Mountain upended the defending D-3 champion Conant Orioles in a playoff-like atmosphere, 53-50.
Utton was a force all over the court with her aggressive play under the boards and her scoring touch as she dropped in 23 points in the home effort.
In the early going, neither team could get into a flow as FM committed 6 turnovers early and Conant’s inside game couldn’t find the hoop. Utton and Taylor Patch opened up the FM scoring with buckets but the Wildcats trailed 10-6 after the first.
“We just couldn’t find our tempo early but we stuck with it and things changed,” said FM’s first-year head coach Matt Baird-Torney.
Defense intensity picked up in the second quarter as FM pressed play and swarmed the Conant outside game with a trapping zone above the foul line. Morgan Beauregard’s jumper tied the game at 10-10 as the second quarter was a running blur of fast breaks and steals.
The first half ended up with a 25-25 tie as Avery Stewart’s three pointer lit her confidence on fire. Beauregard ended the quarter with six big points while Utton scored four of her own.
“We can’t score if we don’t shoot so I told the kids to keep doing what we’ve been practicing and it will come,” said Baird-Torney
Conant opened the second half forcing two FM turnovers and ran off six unanswered points before Stewart’s basket ignited an FM run of their own with Kendall McAllister, Utton and Patch’s baskets giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 37-35 late in the third quarter.
“It’s always a great game up here,” said Conant head coach Brian Troy and added, “these are the types of games we love… hard-nosed, physical, smart basketball.”
Within the first minute of the final quarter, Conant evened the score 39-39, before Stewart and McAllister‘s free throws gave the Wildcats a 43-40 lead with 5 minutes remaining.
With Conant slicing the lead to 45-42, Utton grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in for a 47-42 lead as the Den in Langdon was getting wild.
“This is what basketball is all about,” said Utton after the game. “… Intense, fun, and my teammates played like we are capable of playing.”
As FM started to bleed the clock, Makenna Grillone’s deep three-pointer was a dagger to Conant as the lead grew to 51-44. But, Conant answered back with six quick points of their own as FM was forced to ice the game from the line, clinging to a 51-50 lead. Patch missed both of her attempts but immediately made up for it as she ended up getting her own rebound on the second shot and kissed the ball off the glass to put FM ahead 53-50. The final Oriole shot missed the mark, giving FM a big win early in the season.
“Our team adapted well to a very good Conant team and the younger players really impressed me tonight… plus, having Zoe is always a good thing for a coach to have,” said Baird-Torney after the game.
When asked about the pressure of a game like this, freshman Grillone said she was ready for it. “Playing AAU against some really good teams… plus with coach Matt, we were game-ready and I think we will only get better.”
Utton grabbed 15 rebounds to go with her 23 points, while Stewart dropped in 10 points and Shea Pickering added 9 points.
FM will travel to Winnisquam on Friday while Conant will host Newport on Thursday.
In JV action, FM topped Conant 49-36 as Sydney McAllister led the way with 13 points followed by Nora Dunnigan’s 11 points and Erin Brady added 10 points also.
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