Merrimack girls basketball comes back twice to beat Londonderry in OT

MERRIMACK - The Merrimack High School girls basketball team struggled to get shots to fall Friday night against Londonderry.

Except for when the Tomahawks needed them to fall.

Gillian Waller hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 2.7 seconds left and then hit a 3 in overtime, and Kaylee Bormuth scored what proved to be the winning basket with 28.7 seconds remaining as Merrimack defeated Londonderry 42-41 in overtime in the Division I regular-season finale for both teams.

Waller finished with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Emma Valluzzi was also in double figures with 12 points, two of which came with 13.2 seconds left in regulation and helped the Tomahawks (7-6) keep the game close.

"Not our best night offensively, for sure," Merrimack coach Bryan Duggan said. "A lot of missed opportunities. Great looks just not falling. What I really liked about the group, two months ago, we lose this game. We’ve learned to scratch and fight, and I said just stay in it.

"(Waller) is a big-time shooter for us and she did not have the best shooting night, for sure. But she has the ability to make those shots. We’re down three and we ran a play under 20 seconds, we ran an elevator play. Emma Valluzzi got it, and she was very smart, just got a quick basket for us. That’s the thing, just continue the game as much as we can."

Waller's tying basket came after Londonderry's Ashley Rourke hit two free throws to put the Lancers up 37-34 with 7.6 seconds remaining. Merrimack got the ball across midcourt and took a timeout to set up the play.

"We knew we had to hit it at the end of the game, so we worked together," Waller said. "We did it before and it didn’t work out so well, so we had to execute the play and we got the open shot and tied the game. I had a feeling it was going in and it was a great feeling.

The Lancers scored the first four points of overtime, taking a 41-37 lead on two more free throws from Rourke with 1:23 remaining. But Waller cut into the lead with a 3, and after a Londonderry timeout, the Tomahawks got possession back on a held ball, setting up Bormuth's game-winner.

Londonderry had two chances to take the lead in the final 30 seconds, but Ashley Schmitt missed the front end of a one-and-one and Merrimack got the rebound. The Lancers still had three fouls to give, and they finally sent Bormuth to the line for a one-and-one with 9 seconds to go.

Bormuth missed the shot, Londonderry got the rebound and got the ball to Rourke, but as she reached midcourt, Merrimack's Keira Bike came up from behind and knocked the ball away. The Lancers regained possession, but had to rush the final shot and Shannon Sadhwani grabbed the rebound to secure the win for the Tomahawks.

"Shannon had a huge rebound to end the game," Duggan said. "It could have gone either way. Anyone on our team can make a play. (Bike) is our best all-around basketball player. She does everything. She anticipates offensively and defensively. She makes unbelievable basketball plays for us."

Londonderry (4-9) got 22 points from Rourke, including 9 of 10 from the free throw line, while Olivia Chau added nine points, four of which came in the final 63 seconds of regulation that helped the Lancers take a 35-32 lead.

The game saw 13 lead changes and three ties, with Merrimack taking a five-point lead in the first quarter and Londonderry responding with a 16-4 run to take a seven-point lead in the second quarter. The Tomahawks finished the first half on an 8-2 run that included a three-point play from Waller and a 3-pointer with 33.9 seconds left that made it a one-point lead for Londonderry, 20-19.

Rourke opened the second half with a 3, one of three on the night, to put the Lancers up four, but Waller answered with a 3 and after a steal by Valluzzi, Lilli Dabilis scored to put Merrimack up 24-23. That was the first of 10 lead changes in the second half, with the Tomahawks taking a 28-27 lead into the fourth.

With a little more than a minute remaining, Chau hit a jumper that rattled around the rim before falling, putting Londonderry up 33-32, and after a Merrimack turnover, she scored again to make it a three-point lead. Valluzzi drove to the basket and scored on the next possession for the Tomahawks, cutting the lead back to one and setting up the frantic final seconds of regulation.

"I’ve coached in Massachusetts for the last 10 years, so this end-of-game thing is an adjustment as well," Duggan said. "I’m used to a shot clock. I’m always trying to keep an eye on it. We’ve got to foul, but we don’t want to foul (Rourke).

"You have to come ready to play. We were battling with them the whole way. It was never out of a few possessions. If you can keep it within 10 and fight, it’s a game of runs for sure. Ugly moments for sure, but it was a good rock fight."