SHORELINE
In a perhaps fitting end to a topsy-turvy rivalry game, it was Shorecrest senior Jocelyn Riordan who scooped up a loose ball and dribbled out the clock.
Riordan, who was bloodied by a hard foul a few minutes earlier, scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half as Shorecrest hung on to beat Shorewood, 56-53, Jan. 16 at Shorecrest High School.
“Game of runs,” Shorewood coach Nina Lowe said. “It’s exciting, that’s a good game. We had a chance to put them away and they fought back.”
Shorecrest came out in a man-to-man defense in the third quarter and it helped them hold Shorewood without a field goal in the quarter. The Scots outscored Shorewood 18-4 in the quarter to take a 44-39 lead.
Shorecrest extended the lead to 12, 55-43, on a basket by Riordan with about four minutes to play.
Then Becky Farden scored and was fouled and made the free throw to cut it to nine with 3:36 to go. Farden finished with 17 points.
Tiffanie Bronson, who scored 14 points, scored six straight points. Taylor Nephew made one of two free throws with 48 seconds left to get Shorewood within 55-53 and complete a 10-0 run.
“We found a way to claw our way back,” Lowe said.
With about 32 seconds left, Lowe elected to have Farden foul and the 30-second clock reset. Riordan got the ball on the inbound pass and Shorewood tried to foul again but the officials did not make a call right away. Finally, Bronson came in and bumped Riordan; she crumpled to the floor with a bloody nose and a foul was called.
“At that point I wanted to make the game as long as possible,” Lowe said. “Whether it’s the right call, I want to have as many possessions as I can.”
Riordan had to come out to stop the flow of blood, so Katie McCorkell came in off the bench to shoot the free throws. McCorkell hit the front end of a one-and-one but missed the second. She got the rebound, but shot and missed and Shorewood grabbed the rebound.
Farden missed a 3-pointer and Shorewood fouled Casey Axelson. Axelson missed the front end of a one-and-one and Shorewood rebounded and took a timeout with 10.9 seconds left.
The Thunderbirds called a play for Farden but she could not handle a pass just outside the 3-point line and Riordan scooped up the ball.
“We ran the play, just didn’t quite end how we wanted it too,” Lowe said. “We played a tough game. Can’t fault the effort at all.”
After a close first quarter, Shorewood outscored Shorecrest 22-12 in the second quarter and led by as many as 10 points in the period.
Shorewood made five 3-pointers, three by Farden and led 35-26 at the break.
“We had a few breakdowns on defense,” Riordan said. “We really regrouped at the half.”
The Scots were 0 for 8 from 3-point land at the half while Riordan and Ashley Hagood each had a 3-pointer in the second half while Shorewood had none. Hagood finished with 16 points while Caroline Towles had 10 for the Scots.
“Every sign girl stepped up, especially defensively,” Riordan said of the third quarter.
Riordan and Farden are teammates on a select team called the Quick Handle Heat.
“Becky is a great player,” Riordan said. “It was just a good final win against Shorewood seniors. It feels good.”
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