KUA Shocks Groton - Wildcats Win with 4 Players on the Floor!
As the coach of the KUA Wildcats for the past 11 years, I can recall many proud moments, but Saturday’s gutsy performance at Groton has to top the charts. It was a classic David vs. Goliath match-up. Only 6 players for KUA traveled the 2 hour distance to Groton, MA, to take on the mighty Zebras, a Class B tournament-bound team with two All-New England and All-League players, one of whom is 6’1 center Danny Rainer who will be playing for Williams College next year. The Cats did not seem very phased by the task ahead of them as they matter-of-factly went about their warm-up and listened intently to the game plan set before them. KUA was clearly the underdog but the coaching staff emphasized the need to take one possession at a time; keep the score close so that we could have a chance to win in the end. Unfortunately, Groton raced out to a 22-8 lead as they tore apart the zone defense of Kimball Union. KUA called a quick time-out to make a defensive adjustment – we would have to play person-to-person defense, something we were hoping to avoid due to the height and speed of the talented Groton squad. Much to our delight, however, the change in defense seemed to work as KUA went on an 11-4 run to bring the game within reach again (19-26). However, three KUA players were charged with 2 fouls each in the first stanza so while we wanted to play aggressively, we had to be careful. Groton headed in to the break with an 8 point lead (35-27).
The second half was going all KUA’s way until about 7 minutes left in the contest. Tori Agel found herself at the line several times (8-for-10 from the charity stripe) and her sharp shooting helped close the gap to 1 (40-41) with 11:32 to play. Several key jumpers by Greydy Diaz and some fancy post moves by 5’6” Shelby Pillsbury pushed the Cats ahead, 47-45, with 7:02 to go. That is when KUA’s troubles began. Point Guard Gabby Diaz committed her fifth foul and was disqualified. The 5 remaining players would have to finish out the game without any subs, at least that’s what we thought. With 4:11 left on the clock, Shelby Pillsbury caught the ball in the low post, pivoted in to the paint and kissed the ball off the glass for two of her 8 points on the afternoon. After she released the ball, Shelby came down awkwardly on her already badly sprained ankle and an injury time-out was called. Grimacing in pain, Shelby was evaluated by the Groton trainer. She probably should have sat out the rest of the game, but Shelby refused to let her teammates down. She courageously stepped back on to the court and continued to play through the pain. Her four remaining teammates knew that they would have to step up and help Shelby with her defensive assignment as her mobility was limited. Surprisingly on the next play, Shelby again posted up Groton’s 6’1 center and scored another huge bucket to increase Kimball Union’s lead to 6 with 2:56 on the clock. Less than 10 seconds later, Co-Captain Tori Agel was whistled for her 5th personal foul while fighting for a rebound. With no one left to sub in, the Cats had no choice but to play out the rest of the game just 4 players strong. Again, these amazing Lady Wildcats seemed unphased. Senior Faith Smith grabbed a huge defensive rebound with 1:32 on the clock and got the ball ahead to Greydy Diaz who nailed the 10 footer. Groton would answer with a bucket and a quick steal on the inbounds play leading to another deuce and bringing the score to 57-54. Diaz, however, would again hit a clutch shot, this time a 3 pointer from the top of the key. KUA up by 6. The Zebras responded by sinking two more buckets to bring the score to 60-58, but Diaz got fouled on the next play and headed to the line. She coolly sank both freebies to bring her total point production to 24 points, including a 6-for-6 performance from the line. Groton once again answered with less than 2 seconds on the clock. After a Groton time out, Pillsbury inbounded the ball to Diaz. Diaz tried to give the ball back to Pillsbury, but Groton’s Rainer intercepted the pass. The quick-minded Pillsbury used her strength to tie the ball up and a jump ball was called. Thankfully the possession arrow was pointing KUA’s way, but this meant that Pillsbury had to once again inbound the ball safely. This time Pillsbury found Bianca Brenz breaking long and threw a perfect touch-down pass to Brenz who held on to the ball as the final precious seconds ticked off the clock allowing KUA to pull off the 62-60 upset.
What a courageous effort by all 6 KUA players! These girls made history by overcoming all obstacles and working together to accomplish the unimaginable. Way to go, Wildcats!
Shelby Pillsbury: 8 points (all in 2nd half), 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Tori Agel: 12 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Gabby Diaz: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Faith Smith: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
Bianca Brenz: 6 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Greydy Diaz: 24 points (8-for-16 from the floor), 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 assists
