Foxborough Girls' Basketball Team Drops a Close One to Attleboro

Sometimes the best games are between teams that you will not see making runs for the title.

When the only pressure is to give your all for the team, when you can forget about the record, when wins and losses are less critical than effort than sometimes teams can put on a show for the fans.

This was one of those nights.

The Attleboro High Lady Bombardiers pulled out an epic 59-56 win over the Foxboro Warriors in a game that featured heroics from both sides and came down to the final seconds of regulation.

The win was exhausting for the coaches as much as the players as neither was willing to give up.

Attleboro coach Missy Traversi who said she had to sit during the interview because she was worn out couldn't speak highly enough of how proud she was of her team.

"I'm so excited," said Traversi. "Tonight for the first time, I saw them come together when the going got tough and they had a collective buy-in. My seniors really stepped up big tonight."

Foxboro coach Lisa Downs was equally spent following the game. While disappointed with the final result, she was also proud of the fight her squad showed in the fourth quarter.

"Overall, I thought they played well, just too bad we couldn't pull out a win," said Downs. "The lack of knowing what to do at the end, we're in man to man and to leave someone alone...It can only help us."

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 39 and proceeded to match each other amazing play for amazing play. Andrea Marcotte, who finished with 19 points in what Downs called "her best game of the season," hit a driving lay-up and was fouled (although the free throw was missed) to put Foxboro up 46-43 with 5:31 to go. She then did it again two minutes later to put the Warriors up, 52-51.

That was when Attleboro senior captain Emily Mayer, who is playing in a mask from a broken nose she suffered earlier this season, stepped up and knocked down a jump shot.

Following a Foxboro free throw, Mayer then hit a twisting bank-shot with a foot on the line while being fouled to give the Lady Bombardiers a 55-53 lead.

Ally Perry tied it for Foxboro, but Savannah Boyle, who led all scorers with 22 (19 in the second half), answered back with two clutch free throws.

After Kayleigh Marino made one of two, the teams traded turnovers giving Attleboro the ball under their own basket facing full-court pressure until Jaycee Copes snuck behind the defense and sophomore Brianna LaPlume hit her with the perfect pass to give Attleboro the final margin of victory.

It was a breathless and frenetic finale and Traversi was ecstatic to get a win like this for her seniors.

"I'm so happy for them because they work so hard in our practices and they need to feel what it feels like to win again," she said.

Both teams will continue Hockomock League play on Friday night with Attleboro travelling to