WINDHAM — Trailing by 10 with 1:50 to play, the Windham girls’ basketball team needed some quick baskets Tuesday night.
Instead, McAuley did what it always does: Lock down on defense.
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The Lions kept the Eagles without a shot for 30 seconds. Following a Windham miss, Allie Clement sprinted down the court and was fouled on a layup try. She coolly hit a pair of free throws and McAuley went on to a 41-32 win.
Just another day at the office for the Lions (7-0), who built a 26-9 halftime lead and held on.
“It starts with defense for us,” McAuley Coach Bill Goodman said. “In the first half everything went exactly the way we hoped. In the second half we weren’t disciplined on offense. You can’t hold (Windham star Meghan Gribbin) scoreless all night but we played good defense. She’s a special player. We just lacked discipline on offense.”
McAuley trailed 2-1 midway through the first quarter, then earned steals on three straight possessions, resulting in a pair of buckets. Windham (4-3) went on to miss its next 13 shots as McAuley built a 24-5 lead, its largest.
The key to that stretch was McAuley center Alexa Coulombe, who guarded Gribbin at the point in the first half. Coulombe had three steals in the first quarter and freshman Victoria Lux took over in the paint.
Lux had 12 points in the first half as McAuley took its 17-point halftime lead. Windham hit 3 of 24 first-half shots.
“I’ve been developing my defense on the wing,” Coulombe said. “(In travel ball) I had to play point guard sometimes. I do what we need to help us win.”
In the second half, Windham would not roll over to the defending Class A champions.
The Eagles started chipping away at the lead. But with the deficit down to seven in the fourth quarter, Coulombe powered into the post, was fouled and hit her free throws. On the next possession, she hit a 15-foot baseline jumper for a 35-24 McAuley lead. A 3-pointer from Bebe Butts made it 35-27 but Coulombe again had an answer, hitting a pair of free throws with 1:50 remaining to make it 37-27. From there the McAuley defense took over, not allowing Windham a good look at the basket on a 30-second possession that sealed its fate.
Windham assistant coach Wayne Martin said the Eagles were happy with their defense, which changed looks several times in the second half to confuse the Lions. If only the Eagles’ offense had found some answers of its own.
“That’s a credit to them, McAuley’s defense,” Martin said. “Normally we get those shots off without a hand in our face. … That’s what they’re known for. Their half-court defense was just incredible.”
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