The MCAL was left with a cliffhanger after the finish of Tuesday’s showdown between Tam and Archie Williams. Tune in Thursday, fans, to see the conclusion.
Tam’s 42-30 victory over host Archie Williams boosts the Red-tailed Hawks into playoff contention ahead of the Peregrine Falcons, who missed out on a chance to lock up a MCAL playoff berth and now are in danger of missing the league playoffs entirely.
There remains the possibility, however, of the season ending in a three-way tie. If both Tam (15-9, 4-3 MCAL) and Archie Williams (10-15, 4-3) lose Thursday, they would finish the season 4-4 and tied with the Branson School (10-14, 4-4). The Bulls, who beat Terra Linda on Tuesday to finish their league schedule, own a victory over Tam, but lost to Archie Williams.
“The girls knew they had to do the job to get into a possible tiebreaker,” said Tam head coach Lynette Egenlauf.
Thursday’s games become must-win contests for the Hawks and Falcons, but neither has an easy matchup. Tam takes on league leader Marin Catholic (15-10, 7-0), while Archie Williams faces second-place Redwood (18-7, 6-1).
“We’ll be coming in as an underdog,” Egenlauf said, “so we have to make sure we give ourselves a chance to win. We’ll have to contain Marin Catholic. It’ll be tough, they’re a great team.”
A tiebreaker game is scheduled for Monday, if needed.
“This was a big night and there were a lot of emotions surrounding the game,” Archie Williams head coach Zach Wahle said after Tuesday’s game. “We’re not out of it yet, but it’s disappointing to not win this one.”
The loss was made even more difficult for the Falcons by the sight of Annabelle Freed on crutches during the senior night celebrations. She had a solid start to the night with four points in the first quarter, but Tam’s all-out defense limited Freed and the Falcons offense. Freed went down hard after driving to the paint and landed on her knee. She came up limping and grabbing at her knee.
Archie Williams struck first on Tuesday, but Ava Livesey answered with a 3-pointer that put Tam ahead for good. The Hawks went on a 12-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters for a 14-point lead. After a scoreless first quarter, Sanaa Green got into the flow with back-to-back baskets to start the second quarter and kickstart her 10-point night.
Archie Williams’ Allegra diCarpegna got the Falcons back in the game with a six-point spree and Lila Peterson followed with a 3-pointer to close the gap to five points. But Tam scored twice before halftime to take a 24-15 lead into the break.
The momentum swung back and forth in the second half. The Falcons got within five points before the Hawks went on an eight-point run in the third quarter.
Tam shut the door on Archie Williams with a six-point outburst in the fourth quarter. Mia Wong, Green and Emma Friedman-Lowenthal scored in a quick span to build Tam’s lead up to 14 points with 3 minutes left to play.
“I was hoping to see more grit and fight from ourselves,” Wahle said. “Tam beat us to the ball and to the rim. That was the difference tonight.”
DiCarpegna led the Falcons with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Freed added six points and six rebounds. Gia DeBok finished with five points and nine rebounds.
Tam junior guard Mia Wong scored eight points. Ayla Koch-Bergen tallied eight points and 12 rebounds, while Friedman-Lowenthal added 11 rebounds to her four-point night.
“Mia’s game is like lightning,” Egenlauf said. “She energizes her coaches and her teammates when makes a basket. She tries to be Michael Jordan in ‘Space Jam’ with her layups. It’s her defensive IQ that’s really impressive.”