Gilmour outlasts Beaumont in district semifinal

They say it’s difficult to beat a team three times in a season.

It’s doable — it’s just not easy.

Gilmour girls basketball coach Julie Solis will go along with that.

Her Lancers suffered through crippling foul trouble and missed a slew of free throws at the end of the game.

But the sixth-seeded Lancers had just enough to outlast ninth-seeded Beaumont, 49-46 in a Division II district semifinal on Feb. 24 in Gates Mills.

The third edition of the Gilmour-Beaumont trifecta — the first ones coming on Jan. 4 and Jan. 16 — puts Gilmour (15-8) in a district championship game Feb. 27 against top-seeded Laurel.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but it’s exciting,” Solis said. “I know

I’m ready to step up to that challenge (against Laurel) and I’m going to get them prepared to do that as well.”

Few things — if anything at all — came easy for the Lancers against the Blue Streaks. But every time Beaumont (12-9) made a charge, Gilmour had an answer.

When Tamya Edwards and Elissa Letterio hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter to erase a 27-21 Gilmour lead, Megan Duffy responded with a coast-to-coast, and-one to stem Beaumont’s momentum.

When both Cooper Flowers and Lauryn Stover went to the bench in the third quarter with four fouls each, the Lancers went with a smaller lineup that resulted in an 8-0 run that opened a 34-27 lead.

Freshmen Katie Puletti and Nicci Finazzo had drives to cap that spurt.

And when Beaumont’s Lydia Gattozzi hit two free throws at the 5:09 mark of the fourth quarter for a 37-36 Beaumont lead — the Blue Streaks’ first lead since 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, Gilmour responded with a 9-0 run.

Finazzo hit a driving layup, then two free throws. Angelina Lonardo’s shot made it, 42-37, followed by a Finazzo charity shot and a drive by Stover.

Beaumont never led again.

“Hats off the them,” said Beaumont coach Derrick Russell. “Their freshman (Finazzo) played her butt off. We didn’t have an answer for her. She’d turn the corner on us (on drives) and we didn’t get help quick enough.”

Finazzo had a team-high 15. She and fellow freshman Puletti also had the task of guarding Gattozzi, who had 17 points, but

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but it’s exciting. I know I’m ready to step up to that challenge (against Laurel) and I’m going to get them prepared to do that as well.” — Gilmour coach Julie Solis

seven came from the freethrow line.

“Just pressure her and try to slow her game down,” said Finazzo of her instructions guarding Gattozzi.

Still, Gattozzi nearly sent the game to overtime. After Finazzo hit a free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining for a 49-46 lead. Gattozzi got off a half-court shot that caromed off the front of the rim, a shot that would have sent the game to overtime had it gone in.

“We practice that, long 3s like that, because you never know when you might need one,” Russell said.

Russell lamented not only Finazzo’s driving, but also a few late turnovers that hurt his team and “some good looks that didn’t go in.”

Aside from Gattozzi’s 17, Beaumont got nine from Letterio and eight from Ally Ziegler.

Despite the foul trouble, Stover had 10 and Flowers six for Gilmour.

The Lancers were 14 of 28 from the line.

“Yeah, it was frustrating at times,” Flowers said, “but my coach told me to keep my head in the game and keep pushing forward.

“It was a good win. There’s nothing like beating a team three times in a season.”