It wasn’t the prettiest or most cleanly played game its viewers have ever seen. But Mercy knows how to win a game when their shots aren’t falling, and for the 17th time this season they did just that. The Tigers defeated Stamford in the opening round of the Class LL tournament 52-37 at home.
Mercy started off slow on offense and led only 8-4 after one quarter, but pushed this lead to 24-11 at halftime as outside shots began to fall.
Though the Tigers outside shooting was spotty throughout the game, they were able to maintain a comfortable lead in the second half on the strength of their defense and by directing the ball inside for easy baskets and trips to the free throw line. Mercy cemented their 16-point victory in the fourth quarter by hitting nearly every three throw shot they had, of which there were many.
“I felt like we were playing good offensively for most of the game,” said head coach Tim Kohs. “We were running the offense well and getting open shots. We just weren’t hitting them. We need to execute better on that end going forward.”
Junior guard Maria Weselyj led Mercy with 21 points. Junior guard Jordyn Nappi scored 10 and junior forward Liz Falcigno added nine.
“Weselyj had a great game,” stated Kohs. “She had a mini-slump a few games back, but in the last two games she shot the lights out, which is nice to see at this time of year. I was also happy with the job Liz Falcigno did on defensively on Cognetta, who is their best player.”
Mercy will play St. Joseph of Trumbull, the No. 3 seed in the LL tournament, on the road Thursday at 7 p.m. St. Joseph is 19-3 this season. Kohs sees the matchup as a tossup game that is there for the taking.
“I like how we’re playing right now”, stated Kohs. “To win against anybody going forward we’ll need to execute better on both ends and make open shots. If we play like that than any game is winnable.”
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