Notre Dame Of Fairfield Girls Fall To Masuk In SWC Quarterfinals, 37-35

With a 13-point lead midway through the third quarter, the Notre Dame of Fairfield girls basketball team seemed to be in control of its SWC quarterfinal against Masuk, but then a light switch seemed to go off for the Panthers.

Freshman Jana Migliaro exploded for all 13 points of her points off the bench during a 17-2 run over the final 3:45 of the period that carried fouth-seeded Masuk to a 37-35 victory over the Lancers on Saturday afternoon at Lauralton Hall.

The Panthers, who improved to 13-8 with their sixth straight victory, will face top seed Lauralton Hall, a 73-47 winner over No. 8, Bunnell in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Notre Dame, which had won five of its final six regular-season games, drops to 12-9 and now prepares for the Class M state tournament.

"I think three-minute blitz is pretty accurate," Notre Dame coach Eric DeMarco said. "Masuk upped the intensity and we had prepared for their press, but it's one thing to replicate something in your own gym. It's another thing when you face a well-coached and motivated team. They put us on our heels a little bit."

The eruption by Migliaro, who drilled three 3-pointers, helped Masuk turned a 25-12 deficit into 29-27 lead entering the final period. It actually turned it a 19-2 run when Victoria Schiebe scored on a base-line drive to open the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame never went back ahead, but it had five chances to either tie or take the lead in final minute. Masuk kept the Lancers alive by missing four free rthrows in the final 41 seconds, including a pair by Migliaro with 8.2 seconds left.

But Notre Dame's final chance came up empty when Alexandra Danas missed a 3-pointer from the left corner as the Lancers went for the win.

Bianka Bell, who ignited Notre Dame's offense early, led the Lancers with 13 points while Brianna Mann added 11. Only four Notre Dame played scored as Amber James chipped in with seven and Jovan Kingwood added four.

"I was proud of the way that the girls rallied and we had chances to either tie or take the lead late when earlier in the year we had difficulty with the end game," DeMarco said. "As I told the girls, the finality of this feeling could get you ready for might happen if we don't happen in Class M."

Bell hit a pair of 3-pointers to stake Notre Dame to a 10-6 lead. After holding a 13-10 advantage after the first period, the Lancers extended their lead to 20-12 at the half on Danas' follow with five seconds left.

Notre Dame then went up 25-12 on James layup with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter. Up until that point, Masuk had attempted no free throws and made only five baskets, including just two in the paint.

But Migliaro scored Masuk's next eight points, hitting a driving layup and two 3-pointers, to pull the Panthers within 25-22. Her third 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the quarter gave Masuk its 29-27 lead.

DeMarco felt the Lancers missed some opportunities in the first half that could have provided an even bigger lead.

"I don't know how many more (points)," DeMarco said. "I know I would liked a few more, specifically three more."

While Notre Dame didn't realize its goal of winning a game in the SWC tournament, the Lancers' other goal of winning a first-round game in the state tournament for the first time in four years is still within reach.