On Wednesday night, two league rivals squared off in a game so tight, it took two overtime periods to determine a winner. When the dust had settled, New Rochelle’s girls had earned a hard-fought win over host Mamaroneck, topping the Tigers 68-59 in a statement win that showcased the Huguenots’ resolve and grit.
That grit was exemplified, in part, by the tenacious play of Brianne Foley, who suffered a turned ankle in the first half but recovered enough to lead her team to victory in the overtime periods, netting 14 of her team-high 23 points after regulation to lead the way for New Rochelle.
“When you get into those situations, you just have to take a deep breath and relax,” said Foley. “If you try to do too much, that can hurt you.”
New Rochelle head coach Donald Ross praised Foley for her resolve, noting that her ability to play through some early pain helped to lift the team to victory.
“Foley was fantastic; she got hurt early in the game, she had to come out for a bit, but she gutted it out and at the end of the game, she was special,” said Ross. “She makes our engine go.”
Mamaroneck, which forced overtime with a furious fourth-quarter comeback, was paced by more stellar play from sophomore phenom Addie Dorfman, who tallied a game-high 37 points while grabbing 33 rebounds on the afternoon.
Ross admitted that game-planning against a player like Dorfman is nearly impossible, but credited his squad with doing its best to slow down the explosive front court presence.
“She’s phenomenal, you saw what she did today,” said Ross. “There wasn’t much we could do, but we did our best to double her and try to deny her the ball and that helped a bit.”
The two teams will meet again on the Feb. 8, the final day of the regular season.
New Rochelle, which started the season with a tough stretch that saw them win just one of their first six games, has been playing better as of late, winning five straight league contests to climb back to .500 on the year. Ross believes that games like the win over Mamaroneck show what the team is capable and prove that the group is forging an identity as the playoffs approach.
“It was tough for us early on, we came into the year losing two of our big players from last year and that meant we needed to learn how to play together and figure things out,” said Ross. “But you can see the players are starting to get a feel for it, learning to trust each other and as we move forward, that’s going to be the most important thing.”
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