Bartlett nabs 2nd straight OT triumph

Neuqua Valley made sure it knew where Ashley Santos was. But the Wildcats may have paid a little too much attention to the Bartlett freshman guard.

Neuqua Valley's defense allowed Bartlett guard Becca Cronin to wiggle loose for a game-tying 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds remaining. The Hawks used Cronin's shot to take the momentum and a 67-62 overtime victory in Upstate Eight Conference girls basketball action at Bartlett Friday night. It was the Hawks' second straight OT win.

"We drew that play up in the timeout," said Cronin, who finished with 14 points. "I just wanted to take a normal shot. (After that) we knew we were going to take the game from them."

Neuqua Valley (9-12, 2-4) turned the ball over with 7.8 seconds left and a 55-52 advantage after a backcourt violation. Bartlett coach Denise Sarna quickly called a timeout to set up the final play. Santos (16 points) drew a double-team, allowing Cronin to take an inbound pass from sophomore guard Nicole Beck.

"We were trying to match up to (Santos)," said Neuqua Valley forward Danielle Davis, who finished with 13 points, 4 steals and 2 assists. "We thought they were going to pass it to her. They were setting screens and we left our eye off (Cronin)."

Santos (7 rebounds, 2 steals) took all of Bartlett's shots in overtime going 2-of-5 from the floor as the Hawks (11-7, 3-2) outscored Neuqua Valley 12-7 in the extra period. Bartlett also got a pair of free throws from 4 different players in jumping out to a 63-57 advantage 2 minutes, 10 seconds into overtime. Davis finished with 4 of the Wildcats 7 points.

Sarna credited Cronin's 3-pointer for the morale boost in overtime.

"That was a huge turning point," she said. "The turnover with 7 seconds left ignited the crowd. We thought Nicole would be a good player to go to and she would make that attack."

Neuqua Valley had been the attacker for much of the second half. The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run to close out the third quarter and take a 44-37 lead. The Wildcats never trailed in the fourth quarter, but Bartlett tied the game at 48 with 4:36 remaining on an Alex Tovella basket. The Wildcats responded by scoring 5 straight points to go up 53-48.

Even after Bartlett battled back, Davis looked to ice the game by converting a pair of free throws with 43 seconds to put Neuqua back up 55-50. Cronin then put in an offensive rebound on the next trip down the court, before Bartlett forced the turnover with 7.8 seconds remaining.

"This definitely was a learning experience for us," Wildcats coach Mike Williams said. "We let one slip by us."

Wildcats freshman Becky Willford led all players with 19 points, while Jacki Gulczynski added 12 points and 8 rebounds for the Hawks.