Bella Owumi 3-pointer caps stunning St. Mary’s comeback over Cathedral

LYNN — With a full moon outside, funny things were happening inside the Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium for two and a half quarters Tuesday night.

Trailing reigning Division 4 champion Cathedral by 18 points with just over 13 minutes to go, St. Mary’s found its stride and staged a memorable finish.

And leave it to the Spartans’ superstar, Bella Owumi, to provide the game-winning moment as her 3-pointer with six seconds left capped a 27-6 run to give St. Mary’s a 46-43 win over the Panthers.

“It’s funny to say but once Bella settled down, everyone seemed to play better,” St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall said. “And that’s when things changed.”

Up until the midpoint of the third quarter, it had been all Panthers as talented guards Keyona Raines (16 points) and Hijjah Allen-Paisley (14 points) were giving the Spartans fits. A 14-2 run to begin the third quarter gave Cathedral a 35-17 lead as they threatened to run the hosts out of the building.

But late in the third, the momentum changed in a huge way when freshman Gaby Lorenzini beat the buzzer with three that cut the lead to 39-26.

“Gaby has been looking for a chance to get in there and contribute and with (Lily Norton) fouling out, we needed her,” Newhall said.

Juliana Conte kept the momentum with a three to begin the fourth and when Owumi converted a layup, the Spartans were suddenly down only six.

Another Owumi layup and a three from Lorenzini set up Charleigh Green’s putback with 3:26 left that capped a 21-2 run and gave St. Mary’s its first lead.

Raines gave the lead right back to Cathedral with a steal and bucket to begin a frantic final minutes.

Jillian Roberts buried a three from the left wing for a 43-41 Spartan lead. Tamia Darling’s two free throws with :33.9 remaining tied the game and set the stage for Owumi’s heroics.

Out of a timeout with :23.8 left, the Spartans got the ball to Owumi and she worked the clock down before drilling a three with :07 left to close out the Panthers.

“We learned a lot,” Newhall said.