Leonas hold off Monarcas in BSNF opener
By THE STAR STAFF
The Leonas of Ponce defeated the Monarcas of Juana Díaz 76-71 on Sunday night in the season opener of the Women’s Superior National Basketball (BSNF by its initials in Spanish) league at Juan “Pachín” Vicens Auditorium in Ponce.
Leading 73-71 with 21 seconds remaining, the Leonas sealed the victory on a three-pointer by Gabriela Gregory, who saved her best for last. The star import player faced tight defense during the play, and the shot was taken from well beyond the arc.
Gregory, a Tulsa, Oklahoma native and former University of Oklahoma and Kansas State standout, was Ponce’s top scorer, finishing with 24 points.
After the first half ended with the Leonas leading 41-33, the Monarcas went on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter to take the lead, albeit briefly. The Juana Díaz surge was fueled by three three-pointers -- one from Tess Amundsen and two in a row from Janessa González. The Monarcas led 44-43, but Mariah Pérez scored on a layup to put the Leonas back in front, 45-44. From that point on, the teams traded leads until the quarter ended with Ponce ahead by seven points, 58-51.
With 7:18 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Monarcas narrowed the gap to 63-60, but the Leonas responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Paola Maldonado and Gregory to extend the lead to nine points.
The teams continued to battle hard until the score stood at 73-69, prompting a timeout with 53.8 seconds left on the clock. Coming out of the break, Juana Díaz import forward Tess Amundsen was fouled and sank both free throws, pulling the Monarcas to within a field goal, 73-71.
That set up Gregory’s contested three-pointer with just 21 seconds remaining to all but seal the five-point win for the Leonas.
Juana Díaz had one last chance, inbounding the ball with only five seconds left, but a long-range attempt by González at the buzzer was off the mark.
Brittany Brewer scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Ponce, while Mariah Pérez added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Amundsen led all scorers with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists. She was followed by González with 23 points and rookie Paola Hernández with 14 points.
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