Thayer vs. Groton: Terrier Trouble

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I saw a great ISL game on Wednesday evening between Groton and Thayer. Both teams are having successful seasons as Groton and Thayer entered Wednesday evening’s contest 9-1 and 8-3, respectively. A tight game throughout, it took a couple of huge plays down the stretch from Thayer to come out victorious. Thayer won 56-52, and below are the standouts. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Player of the Game: </strong> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-381543" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/8E08F971-9D77-49B0-A147-D09530BA500F-scaled-crop-1907x1252-1643386002-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="266710" first="Aoibhe" last="Gormley"] - 5’8’’ - CG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Right after the game Wednesday night, I said that Gormley was a magician on the court. Her passing ability is elite, and she could facilitate Thayer’s offense blindfolded and still create perfect scoring opportunities for the team. Gormley’s chemistry with the rest of the team is unparalleled, making Thayer so difficult to guard, especially when Gormley gets out in transition. In the 4th quarter, Gormley’s playmaking and ball security were superb. She played mistake-free and hit some challenging shots over a sound Groton defense to help put the game away. </span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;">T<strong>hayer Standouts: </strong></span> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-381546" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/01/C59214ED-4A78-4F0C-84CA-353D816311FF-scaled-crop-1707x1121-1643386304-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="183962" first="Claire" last="McCarthy"] - 5’9’’ - SF - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">McCarthy paced the Thayer offense in the first half with 12 points. She did a good job finding open spots on the floor and staying shot-ready off [player_tooltip player_id="266710" first="Aoibhe" last="Gormley"]’s penetration. McCarthy tied Gormley for a team-high 16 points, but McCarthy’s defense was a difference-maker for the team. The number of deflections she had in the 4th quarter to disrupt Groton’s halfcourt sets, along with an aggressive shot contest and blocked shot that closed the door on a last-second Groton comeback, were key. </span> &nbsp; <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-381547" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0190-crop-1213x797-1643386340-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184821" first="Emma" last="Dahl"] - 5’9’’ - SG - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dahl, like [player_tooltip player_id="183962" first="Claire" last="McCarthy"], did an excellent job getting to open spots on the floor and staying ready to shoot. Dahl is one of the best shooters in ’23, and even though she only had 1 three-pointer, the threat of her outside the arc opened up the rest of the floor for Thayer. Dahl also hit big free throws down the stretch of the game, which aided in closing out Groton. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="299954" first="Elle" last="Grant"] - 5’8’’ - SG - ’25</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The freshman wing got big minutes in the 4th quarter and made excellent use of them. She hit two game-changing threes that killed Groton’s momentum. She also drew a foul behind the three-point line where Grant knocked down 2 of 3 free throws. Seeing Grant be aggressive in shooting the basketball confidently in high-intensity moments is an encouraging sign for Thayer and gives them another scoring threat who can space the floor consistently. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Groton Standouts: </strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263808" first="Katie" last="Resendiz"] - 6’0’’ - SF/PF - ’22</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Resendiz led the game with 22 points and was efficient at all three levels. She connected on the majority of her shots, and I don’t think Resendiz had one clean look at the rim. Thayer did a good job closing out and making her take tough shots, and Resendiz continued to find a way to get the job done. Even when [player_tooltip player_id="266710" first="Aoibhe" last="Gormley"] switched on her defensively in the second half, it did not matter. Resendiz, all game long, was a nightmare for the Thayer defense. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="184042" first="Jojo" last="Sulmasy"] - 5’11’’ - PF/SF - ’23</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sulmasy’s stats from Wednesday won’t jump out at you, but I thought her help defense played a huge role in keeping Thayer out of the paint. She communicated well and made sure she was in the proper position to cut off angles on the guard penetration. Sulmasy was active on the boards, pulling down 6 to go with her 4 points. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="381488" first="Male" last="Montero"] - 6’1’’ - PF - ’25</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Montero shut down the paint all game long for Groton. Her shot-blocking and shot-altering ability forced Thayer to be a perimeter-oriented team all game long. Her relentless inside activity forced Thayer to beat Groton 15 feet and beyond. Montero finished the game with 9 rebounds and 6 blocked shots and held Thayer’s bigs to a combined 2 points on the night. </span> &nbsp;