Girls basketball: Albertus Magnus survives the overtime drama against White Plains

BARDONIA - Every loose ball sparked a battle. Every big play required a second effort. Every foul left at least one player on the floor. 

White Plains played with grit. Albertus Magnus came with determination.

They slugged and countered the entire second half Wednesday before the Falcons made three defensive stands in the last minute of a dramatic overtime to open the season with a 68-66 victory.

"We know that we can achieve so much this season," Magnus guard Sierra Linnin said. "Getting this win was really important because it sets a good tone."

Scoreboard: Schedule and recaps for Dec. 8

Game story: New Rochelle chases down North Rockland, opens with 57-48 win

Tuesday: Schedule and recaps for Dec. 7

And the bruises will heal given time.

Linnin, who injured her ankle 20 minutes into the first practice and sat out a majority of the preseason, could not miss in the early going and the Falcons were sitting on a 37-26 lead at halftime. 

Magnus was having turnover issues. The Tigers were shooting terribly.

The intensity was high, though, so the Falcons were not resting comfortably when they came back onto the court after the intermission.

"We knew they were going to pressure us hard," Magnus center Karly Fischer said. "We expected it, we took it and we fought back. That’s all you can ask for. It was definitely a challenge, but we faced it well. We stayed composed, but it was really difficult. They played such a great game."

Aliya McIver had White Plains on top 47-46 heading into the fourth quarter, which became a scrum of sorts. She also knotted the score 58-58 with 25.9 seconds to go in regulation.

The Tigers had the final shot in regulation and in overtime, but could not connect.

"I feel like we can be up there where the better competition is," McIver said. "I feel like we’re up there with them. Even if we’re down 10, that’s just five baskets and five stops. We can come back. We did come back. If we keep pushing each other, pushing each other, pushing each other, we’re going to start winning these games."

Turning point

Linnin opened the overtime with her sixth 3-pointer of the contest and Magnus was up 66-60 when Fischer converted the and-one with 2:17 remaining. White Plains chipped away at the free-throw line and was a basket away from knotting the score or stealing a win after McIver came up with a steal and layup with 56 seconds to go.

The Falcon missed at the other end, but a charging foul ended the next possession. Magnus charged at the other end, but the Tigers got caught in a sideline trap and were called for traveling. The Falcons were again called for charging, but McIver was unable to finish in a crowd at the rim. Annelise Raggio grabbed the offensive rebound and found Ineivi Plata on the wing for 3, but her shot was just off the mark.

"We’re a totally new team, and for some of the girls this was their first varsity game," Magnus coach Pat Buckley said. "I’m proud of them. It obviously wasn’t pretty but we’ve been focusing on playing a little tougher and we did that. We have to take better care of the basketball. Karly and Sierra made some plays when we needed them, but I’ll tell you, White Plains is good. Aliya is a very good player. We have some things we need to figure out because with our schedule, there are no gimmes."

Player of the game

The Falcons managed just two field goals in the fourth quarter and two more in overtime, but Fischer stood up to the physical play inside, got to the line and gave her team a chance to win, finishing with 29 points. 

By the numbers

White Plains (2-2): McIver collected 24 points, eight rebounds and six steals. She had 18 points after halftime. ... Capri Demara heated up in the second half, as well, hitting three very timely 3s and finishing with 13 points. ... Plata finished with 13 points, six deflections and four assists. ... Sequoia Layne had nine points. ... Raggio had five points and eight rebounds.

Albertus Magnus (1-0): Linnin, who did not play in any scrimmages, had five 3s in the opening half and finished with 27 points. ... Fischer went 17 for 20 from the line. ... The Falcons only had four scorers. ... Allie Falesto wound up with 10 points and Danielle Lamond scored two. 

Quotable

"It was definitely tricky," Linnin said of the second-half pressure. "White Plains put up a really good fight. We had to be strong. We knew we couldn’t be soft. This is encouraging for us. We haven’t played together at all, but I think we have really good chemistry and I think we’ll get better from here."

Mike Dougherty covers boys soccer, boys lacrosse, girls basketball and golf for The Journal News/lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com, or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.