Mount Mercy rally falls short against Nardin

BUFFALO - With both teams playing strong defense, offense was hard to come by for the second-straight meeting between Catholic rivals Nardin and Mount Mercy Academy.

Nardin, however, was able to score one more basket and held off a furious Mount Mercy rally to seal the 33-30 win on Saturday afternoon.

“I think both teams played great defense,” stated Mount Mercy Academy coach John Glose. “Which made the game look pretty sloppy. But, I thought it was really good defense, our defense kept us in the game again, and we had a chance to win it at the end. It just didn’t work out.”

The Magic came out on fire as they hit the first nine points. But, a long scoring drought helped Nardin get back in the game and eventually take an 18-16 lead heading in to the break.

With Nardin up six late in the third quarter, Glose changed up his lineup a little to combat the size the Gators put on the court.

It seemed to pay off as the Magic clawed its way back in and nearly pulled this one out at Canisius High School.

“We played 10, 11 girls today,” said Glose. “And, I thought every girl did great. You couldn’t tell who were the first five and who were the second five. I thought they all played really well. I thought they stepped up when they had to.

With the score 33-27, the Magic crashed the boards after a missed shot and the ball came out to Marissa Stack, who grabbed the ball inside the three-point line before stepping behind it and draining the trey.

That kind of heads up play was something Stack was doing all game long. The smallest girl on the court, Stack led the team in rebounds and points.

“She was outstanding and she has had an awesome year,” said Glose. “She has been one of our best scorers, but also one of our best defenders.”

The loss dropped the Magic to 12-11 overall and 5-9 in league play with one game left against Sacred Heart. The game against the Sharks will also be a preview to the playoffs next Saturday as the Magic and Sharks could meet in the quarterfinals.

“It’s going to be a big game and we are going to work our butts off,” Glose said. “There is no reason why we can’t give them a great game.”

Mount Mercy will host its final regular season at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18 when they face Sacred Heart Academy.