Josh McElheny did not take the time to bask in the moment from a personal perspective.
Having accomplished something that differed from every previous team at Monticello, the first-year coach of the Mustangs kept the excitement focused on the players in his youthful program.
At home Tuesday night, Monticello made school history by winning its first playoff game since the school opened 14 years ago as it survived a scare to upend John Handley 49-46.
“This is the first time at the school that the girls side has won [a playoff game],” McElheny said. “It’s another new accomplishment. We have now won our first district tournament championship and now our first playoff game. It has been a blessing for all of us associated with the program.”
By winning the opener in the 2012 Region II, Division 3 girls tournament, the Mustangs advanced to play second-seeded Woodgrove on Thursday for a shot at a state tournament berth. Woodgrove beat Charlottesville 58-25.
As was the case in the Jefferson District title clash against CHS, Monticello needed late heroics to register another win.
With 53.1 seconds left, Monticello junior Emily Larrabee hit one of two free throws to put the Mustangs up 47-44.
On the ensuing possession, Handley went for the tie as senior Cassandra Alamo took a 3-pointer from the elbow, but Monticello’s Meghan Comer blocked that attempt. The ball landed, however, in the hands of Handley forward Kirsten Ward in the paint and she connected on a basket quickly, cutting it to 47-46.
After a wasted possession by Monticello, Handley had a chance to take the lead but Ward dribbled into a crowd and off Larrabee’s foot in the lane with 10 seconds left. Monticello guard Bridget Holleran collected the steal.
After racing up the court, Holleran drew a foul with 4.8 seconds left and quickly nailed the first free throw to put the Mustangs up two.
A clock malfunction, which was resolved after a 60-second delay, could have iced Holleran, but the junior shook it off and nailed the next free throw.
Up 49-46 and with the Judges out of timeouts, McElheny did what an outsider would question. He pounced in the direction of the closest referee to call a timeout.
“I knew [Handley] didn’t have any timeouts, but us being so young I feel like I have to coach us through everything,” the MHS coach said.
Handley, which was the No. 3 seed in the Northwestern District tournament last week, elected to throw a Hail Mary pass with 4.8 seconds left on the inbounds, but Larrabee hauled in the errant throw and the clock expired as the Mustangs avoided being tied up for a jump ball.
“She plays fantastic defense,” McElheny said of Larrabee. “She is a soccer player that we have kind of transferred into a defensive stopper. She has done a great job for us.”
Monticello took a 16-8 lead midway through the second quarter, but Handley took advantage of turnovers and occasional shooting slumps from the field by the Mustangs to trail 23-19 at halftime.
The inconsistency remained in the third quarter as the Mustangs missed nine of their first 11 shots from the field. That allowed Handley to take a 29-28 lead with 2:33 left in the period.
McElheny took a timeout to reset things with his players.
“When you have as many young kids as we do – nobody has been in a situation like this before – every shot that doesn’t go in feels like the end of the world,” said McElheny, who cringed to learn his team shot 20 percent from the field (5 for 20) for the quarter.
“We were getting good shots, getting good looks. We just have to convince them to keep shooting them and they are going to go in.”
Holleran, who had 11 points in the win though Monticello did not make a 3-pointer against Handley. Instead, the Mustangs made 19 field goals and connected on 11 of their 19 free throws.
Molly Shepherd, a freshman, scored 11 of her team-high 16 points in the second half. Comer added 10 points and Larrabee chipped in with nine.
Alamo led Handley with 14 points.
