There are certain games where a coach learns about its team, for better or worse. Saturday, AU women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin learned a lot about her young squad during its resilient 70-68 overtime win over Pennsylvania.
The Eagles blew an 11-point halftime lead and Joey Rhoads hit a 3-pointer for the Quakers to send the game into overtime. In overtime, the Eagles missed five layups and five free throws, but freshman Tish Curry pulled down two huge offensive rebounds off Tara Williams' misses to maintain possession.
"These games are never easy, but I told this team that we do not lose close games," McFerrin said. "Today, the young girls stepped up and Tish played with great effort out there."
The Eagles controlled game in the extra session until Kelly Scott came off a screen and received a pass from Rhoads, which set her up perfectly for a 3-pointer to cut the AU lead to one with a minute left. Penn started fouling Williams, who went 1 of 6 from the line in the final seconds. But fortunately for the Eagles, Curry rebounded two of her misses and immediately passed the ball out, avoiding the trap.
"I was just playing hard and trying to pull down some rebounds, and luckily, I was in the right position to pursue the ball," said Curry, who was making her first appearance off the bench this year after starting the first seven games.
The Eagles were led by Tala Hadavi, who scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Williams scored 13 and grabbed five boards. Junior Abby Lipskis chipped in with 13 and seven rebounds, and Curry scored nine points to go with her 13 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive glass.
The Eagles outrebounded the Quakers, 48-39, including an astounding 23-6 on the offensive glass. This led to the Eagles taking 21 more shots than Penn. So despite shooting only 38 percent for the game compared to Penn's sizzling 49 percent, they still scored more baskets.
"We need to learn to do this every game," McFerrin said. "We work on it in practice and today we were able to make that matter in the game.
In the final minute of regulation, Hadavi stepped to the line for the Eagles and drained four clutch free throws to make sure they kept their lead. But the Eagles nearly gave the game away, committing two turnovers down the stretch.
Curry fumbled an inbounds pass and got called for a violation. Later off a steal, freshman Talicia Jackson threw an errant pass to Hadavi, but Rachel Wilson went backcourt for the Quakers, so the Eagles retained possession.
"It's my job to step up and hit those free throws," said Hadavi. "We needed to win today to show we were mentally tough after [Tuesday's loss at Furman]."
Rhoads led the Quakers with 27 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Wilson chipped in with 12 and center Jennifer Fleischer scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds in the paint.
After Tuesday's poor showing at Furman, McFerrin singled out her five freshmen, calling their performance "disappointing." But after Saturday's game, she was all smiles when talking about her quintet of future studs, as Curry, Jackson, Nicole Ryan, Pam Stanfield, and Sahar Nusseibeh combined for 28 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists.
"They really responded to some criticism and showed what they're made of," McFerrin said. "They played mentally tough and I was impressed."
The Eagles will continue trying to impress their coach this Monday night at Howard, before a big matchup Dec. 22 at Georgetown.
"We feel like we can win both these games and get to .500 going into Christmas," said Hadavi.
If AU can do that, McFerrin will be learning a lot more about her team that she did Saturday. But at this point, she'll take this weekend's lesson.
