McNulty’s star performance not enough as Titans fall to Pats

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 1/21/16

Toll Gate junior center Hannah McNulty was nearly unstoppable on Monday night, but it wasn’t enough.

The Titans (3-7) fell 48-44 at home to cross-town, Division III rival Pilgrim despite McNulty …

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McNulty’s star performance not enough as Titans fall to Pats

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Toll Gate junior center Hannah McNulty was nearly unstoppable on Monday night, but it wasn’t enough.

The Titans (3-7) fell 48-44 at home to cross-town, Division III rival Pilgrim despite McNulty pouring in 16 points to go with 17 rebounds, six steals and two blocks. She scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half, accounting for nearly half of Toll Gate’s points after the break.

“It’s not only her playing ability but her leadership on the floor,” Toll Gate head coach John Paolino said. “She was hurt early on, she missed, like, the first week of January. So tonight is the first time where she’s really kind of just let the game play. We told her, ‘Just play within yourself and just let the game flow. She did a great job.”

The affair would come down to the wire after the Titans took a 38-37 lead on Taylor Jackson’s 3-pointer with four minutes and 24 seconds to go.

The Pats (3-3) would then reel off eight straight points over the next two minutes to jump out to a seven-point advantage. Mercedes Faust got it started with a 3-pointer to put Pilgrim ahead by 2. Erin Plowman then put in her final bucket of the night on the next possession to give the Pats a 42-38 lead. Plowman would finish the game with eight points, 10 rebounds and five steals.

“That’s hard work,” Pilgrim head coach Scott Bayha said of Plowman’s performance. “She stays after practice. We have double practices sometimes, she goes to both. She’s here on voluntary practices on Sundays. That’s a tribute to her. I know from who she is that she’s the hardest worker. I’ve coached for 20 years, she’s up there.”

After another empty trip down the floor for Toll Gate, Faust locked in from 3-point range again and buried her shot to give the Pats a 45-38 lead with just 2:26 left.

Jackson answered Faust with a long-distance shot of her own, cutting the deficit to 4. Jackson, coming off the bench, combined with McNulty to score 21 of the Titans’ 25 second-half points.

“This is really only Taylor Jackson’s second game back since before the vacation,” Paolino said. “So she’s really not in game-playing shape yet. We have not had probably the same starting lineup all season, so to me this team has more potential than last year’s team. We just haven’t had the continuity together yet.”

Pilgrim’s Crystal Armstrong would hit one of two free throw attempts after getting fouled on the offensive end, giving Pilgrim a comfortable 46-41 lead with less than a minute remaining.

The Titans and McNulty wouldn’t go quietly, though.

On her only attempt in the contest, McNulty converted from beyond the arc with 17.4 seconds to go to put Toll Gate within 2. Marisa Giard was able to get the Titans the ball back, too, when her pressure on Pilgrim’s ensuing inbound resulted in her fourth steal of the game with 15 seconds left.

Toll Gate couldn’t find a clean shot, and eventually turned the ball back over to Pilgrim. Alexia Martins was fouled with 2.6 seconds to go, and made both free throws to seal the Pats’ 48-44 victory.

“I think we hang our hat on defense,” Bayha said. “We try to work harder than whoever we’re playing, and you do that on defense. We’re not the best shooters, but on offense we’re coming along. I think we’ll get there, I think this [game] is a building block.”

Martins led the Pats with 13 points while adding five steals, and Faust had 12, all from four 3-pointers, to go with six rebounds and three takeaways. All four of Faust’s deep shots either tied the game or put Pilgrim ahead.

Hannah Page, Pilgrim’s leading scorer coming into the game, was held to just two points on the night. Bayha said that wasn’t a problem because the team’s goal isn’t to have a definitive leading scorer, but to spread the wealth.

“We’re trying not to have a top scorer, we’re trying to play team offense, and whoever’s open, scores,” Bayha said. “I think as long as we do that, we’re going to go far. If we keep relying on one star, that doesn’t work.”

Kendra Tantimonico added nine points and nine boards for Pilgrim, and Lindsey Fontes shined off the bench with eight rebounds. On the Toll Gate side, Jackson had nine points, all in the second half, with three rebounds and two steals. Christina Barry chipped in eight points and three steals.

The two sides played a tight first half, with the Pats taking a 21-19 lead into the intermission. Tantimonico and Faust each led the effort with six points. Free throw shooting cost Pilgrim the chance at a larger advantage, as the Pats went just 5-of-12 from the charity stripe in the first.

Success from the line toward the end of the half helped Pilgrim take the lead back from Toll Gate. Trailing 19-18, Plowman made both free throw attempts, and Tantimonico had two shots with 5.1 seconds left and buried one of them. Foul trouble hurt the Titans in the first half, as they were in the penalty with nine minutes to go and the double bonus with 4:30 left.

Giard was the top scorer for the Titans in the opening 16 minutes, netting six, but she was held without a point in the second half. The same went for Quinn Freeman and Madeleine Hirsch, who combined for five in the first but couldn’t get to the hoop in the second.

“The girls know they can compete, but they just have to do it for 32 minutes,” Paolino said. “[Monday’s] one of the few games where we played and played tough for 32 minutes, because [Pilgrim’s] one of the toughest team in this division. We toughed them out very well for 32 minutes.”

The Titans’ next league game will be tomorrow at home against Shea (6-2) before a non-league matchup with Pilgrim on Monday.

“I’m not going to have to say much in practice now,” Paolino said. “They understand that they’ve kind of got to beat each other up in practice. They’ve got to push each other. Coach can only yell so much in practice. I’ve got great leadership with my captains, with Cassie [Messier] and Hannah. They’ve just got to get better and better.”

The Pats were home for a matchup against Tolman (5-3) on Wednesday, but results were unavailable at press time. Pilgrim will take to the road again tomorrow to face off against rival Warwick Vets (6-5) for the last time.

“Every win is equal from here on out,” Bayha said. “We need big wins from here on out.”

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