Facing a nine-point deficit after three quarters, Greenwich Academy’s varsity basketball team staged a spirited comeback against Masters School, eventually forcing overtime in an intense FAA game.

Unfortunately for the Gators, visiting Masters had the final say in this back-and-forth game, that had both teams working overtime.

Making a couple of more shots and free throws, Masters School from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., pulled out a 47-43 overtime win over host Greenwich Academy on Jan. 20th. The Gators were on a nice success streak going into the game, having defeated Winsor School, Pingree School and Middlesex School at the Pingree School Tournament over the Holiday break. GA trailed 9-7, following the first quarter of action, then was behind, 24-17, at halftime. The third quarter concluded with the Gators down, 33-24, but the hosts outscored the Panthers, 16-7, in the fourth quarter to get the game to overtime.

“We were resilient, that’s the best part of today,” GA basketball coach Jimmy Cassidy said after the team’s game against Masters. “No matter what the score deficit became, we were resilient and we were able to fight back.”

Guard Reagan Gray scored a team-high 16 points to pace the Gators. Gray showcased her shooting touch, converting four 3-pointers, enabling GA to erase a double-digit deficit. Senior center Mallory Walker scored 11 points, nine of which came in the second half for Greenwich Academy, which had good looks at the basket throughout this FAA matchup.

Indeed, GA had plenty of opportunities to put more points on the scoreboard.

“It was mostly just the fundamentals, which is disappointing that we couldn’t convert,” said Walker, a captain. “But it’s definitely an easy fix – just reps and making sure they fall the next time.”

Said coach Cassidy: “We had a bunch of good looks. We had a tough shooting day, which obviously makes any game difficult no matter what the situation in a game may be.”

Eliana Price scored six points, senior forward/captain Mirabel Rodgers had five points and guard Lydia Hartman also added five points for the Gators, who have won five games so far this season.

Effective defensive play helped Greenwich Academy tie the score and send the game into overtime.

“In the first half we were struggling a lot with having help on defense,” Rodgers said. “But the second half we worked really hard on communicating more in being there to help guard their best player. Definitely, help defense was a big shift in the second half.

Senior Adriana Pottier poured in a game-high 21 points to propel the Panthers. Pottier converted two 3-point shots and made 7 out of her 9 free throw attempts. Caitlyn Berry added 11 points, including three 3-pointers for Masters.

Trailing 33-24 after three quarters of action, GA received a 3-pointer from the left side from Price, cutting Masters’ lead to 35-29 early in the fourth quarter. A foul shot by Walker and a basket by Rodgers brought the home team to within 35-33 with 4:51 remaining, capping a 7-0 run.

Hartman hit a 3-point shot from the top of the key, slicing Master’s advantage to just 37-36 with 2:08 left in the final quarter and prompting a Panthers’ timeout.

“They are resilient, they play hard,” Cassidy said of his GA squad. “We, as a team, stayed together.”

Rodgers scored from the low post, knotting the score at 38-38 with 51.3 seconds to play, then Masters went ahead, 40-38, on a layup from Freya Snilsberg with 37.4 seconds to go. Executing its designed play well after a timeout, GA made it 40-40 when Walker scored from the low post, bringing the game to OT.

“It was our second overtime game of the season, so we had a little bit of experience,” Walker said.

Even though the shots didn’t fall the majority of the game, the Gators exhibited stellar passing, leading to high quality shots.

“We were all very focused, trying to make sure we could execute that play at the end,” Rodgers said of the team’s execution of its plays in the final seconds. “We ran it a couple times and it definitely proved effective, but it comes down to making shots at the end and fundamentally, that’s what we’re going to be working on in practice.”

The Panthers scored the first four points of overtime to seize a 44-40 lead, yet GA closed to within 44-43 when Gray buried another 3-pointer, this time from the left corner. Those were the final points the Gators managed to score, however, as Masters held on for the win.

“We were able to fight back and bring it to overtime and keep the positive presence even through some of the mistakes that we don’t typically make,” Cassidy noted.

GA then traveled to New Haven for a matchup versus FAA foe Hopkins School on Jan. 22 and was defeated in another close game, 42-34. The Gators host School of the Holy Child in a league game on Jan. 26, then host Hamden Hall Country Day School on Jan. 28th. GA also hosts Cheshire Academy on Jan. 31st.

“The team’s overall vibe has been fantastic,” Cassidy said. “The team is locked in and is coming together. They are buying into a new culture and new system.”

“We’ve definitely improved a lot,” Walker said. “We had one tournament in Pingree in Massachusetts, we thought that was a really growth moment for our team.”