Madison Girls Win Region Quarterfinals

Heading into the Northern Region quarterfinals Wednesday night, Coach Kirsten Roberts Stone's advice to her Madison High School girls basketball team was simple: "play strong, and play our game."

The Warhawks did just that, stopping the Robinson Rams from ever getting the lead in a tightly matched, physical 64-53 win on Wednesday night that sends the team to the regional semifinals for the first time in half a decade.

Before tip-off on Madison's home court, some classified the matchup as inexperience versus a well-traveled bench of veterans. The Warhawks, Liberty District champions, have just two seniors on their roster and only one among their starting five; the Rams have boasted a starting lineup of all seniors with another three on the bench all season, losing only to teams that had also beat the Warhawks earlier this year.

But both teams have some of the best starting five in the area, Stone said, and standout point guards in Megan LeDuc (Madison) and Megan Green (Robinson).

"Robinson is known as being super tough so we just really had to play our game," Stone said.

Robinson put on the pressure early with a full court press, but it hardly phased LeDuc and Madison. They responded to a 3-point Robinson basket with two points from freshman Kelly Koshuta and a 3-pointer from junior Megan Henshaw, one of two she would score that quarter and one of four she had all night.

Sophomore Katie Kerrigan and LeDuc sparked the Warhawks' defense halfway through the first quarter with key defensive rebounds and a steal before LeDuc drew a charge on the other end of the court.

The Warhawks entered the second quarter with a 20-12 lead but had a harder time finding their offensive groove. Koshuta was soon pulled off the floor after she earned her third foul, and the Warhawks could score just 8 points in eight minutes even after Robinson backed off its full court press.

Robinson came the closest to the lead toward the end of the half, when a reffing error sent the wrong Robinson player to the free throw line on a one-and-one. A referee stopped the clock after Madison gained possession of the ball, pulling the correct Robinson player to the line and giving her another free throw opportunity despite protest from a packed Madison fan base. She made two and the Warhawks lead was cut to just 3 points, 28-25, at the end of the first half.

Madison and Robinson exchanged baskets for much of the third quarter, but the Warhawks entered the fourth quarter with a 42-35 lead. Some fouls by Madison let the Rams inch back, bringing the score to 46-40 with about four minutes to play, but Henshaw responded with a 3-pointer that put the Warhawks back in control of the game. Madison went 12 for 14 on free throws in the final three minutes as Robinson tried to slow down the clock, more than half of the 22 points they scored in the last quarter to seal the victory.

Henshaw led the Warhawks with 22 points. Koshuta, Kerrigan and LeDuc netted 20, 11 and 9 points, respectively. 

For Robinson, Brigitte Kuter led the Rams with 11 points, trailed by Tyler Hansen with 10 and Green with 9.

"As a starting five, [our girls] really play well together. and then our bench game in and played their role as well. I just think we really played our game," Stone said.

The win sends the Warhawks (22-4) to the region semifinals on Friday for the first time since Stone began coaching four years ago. They'll face West Springfield (22-4), who gave the Warhawks one of their few loses this year with a 60-64 win in November, along with a regional playoff loss two years ago, Stone said.  

"[Coach Bill] Gibson has been coaching for a long time, they have two Divison-I players. They've all been there before," Stone said. "For all of our girls, this is the first time they've ever been there."

The Warhawks tip off against West Springfield at 8 p.m. Friday at Robinson High School.

Score Breakdown: