CHESHIRE, Mass. -- Taea Bramer scored 11 of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Taconic girls basketball team held off Granby to take a 56-46 win in the fourth game of the Coaches vs. Cancer showcase at Hoosac Valley on Saturday.
After Taconic used an 18-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to take a 43-26 lead, the Rams battled their way back into the game, briefly getting it back to single digits.
But every time it looked like Granby was poised to put up a run of its own, Bramer seemed to have the answer.
“I think we were up 16 or 17 and they cut it to seven,” Taconic coach Matt Mickle said. “It was a little nerve-wracking there, but Taea’s steady and hit some shots. I think she made some free throws down the stretch, too.”
With 1 minute, 21 seconds on the clock and her team up, 51-44, Bramer drained both ends of a one-and-one to make it a nine-point cushion.
Two possessions later, she converted a two-shot foul with 26 seconds on the clock to give Taconic a 56-44 lead that iced the game.
Ahliya Phillips had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds as Taconic (10-2) qualified for the Western Massachusetts tournament with its third straight win.
Mickle’s team had a narrow, 22-19, advantage at half-time but pulled away by scoring the last 15 points of the third quarter.
Phillips got things started when she drove the lane to erase Granby’s last lead and give Taconic a 27-26 edge.
Conyers scored at the elbow and set up Faith Cross in transition on Taconic’s next two possessions. A jumper from Kendra Buda made it 33-26. Then Phillips scored in transition, Johnahyah Curry hit a deep 3-pointer on an assist from Conyers, and Conyers scored to make it 40-26 after three quarters.
“Those suckers were from downtown,” Mickle said of Curry’s three 3-pointers in the win. “Some of them were from way out there. Those were big shots. And she plays great defense, too. I think she did a good job on their point guard. Hard-nosed and played good ‘D’ all game.”
Mickle also had high praise for Conyers’ defense.
“She’s now turning into a complete player,” he said. “She’s always been able to handle the ball and put it in the hoop. But she’s turning into one of our better defenders. She guarded [Granby’s] Nora Young for most of the game, and I thought she did a good job.
“There’s some stuff we can work on and get better at, but for the most part I thought her effort was great.”
A Bramer triple gave Taconic its biggest lead of the game, 43-26, before Granby rallied.
Young (game-high 20) scored 10 fourth-quarter points to get her team back into it.
But Bramer was always there with the answer.
Taconic goes to Monument Mountain on Monday.
