LIVERMORE FALLS — Mark Simpson glanced over at Megan Therrien and Annika Durrell Thursday night and put the onus on them.

With Jay and Livermore battling through another defensive standoff, the Andies were going to need some clutch baskets from their outside shooters.

“I told both of them during a time out that they’re taking away (Kathryn) Ventrella, and they’re taking away (Marissa) Welch,” said the Livermore Falls girls’ basketball coach. “It was going to come down to the two of them making a shot. They kind of looked at me funny, and I told them that I believed in them. They both stepped up big.”

Therrien drilled a corner jumper with 2:16 left in regulation to tie the game. Durrell hit a shot from the same corner in overtime to help lift the Andies to a 23-21 win. It completed a regular-season sweep of the Tigers.

“This is huge for us,” said Simpson. “This should give us a lot of confidence.”

 With two of the MVC’s best defensive teams, offense was going to be tough to come by. Jay shot just 8-for-41 from the floor and the Andies were just 8-for-39. The Tigers were also just 4-for-17 from the foul line.

The Tigers had a chance to win at the end of regulation and had the ball to start overtime. Jay failed to score both times. After the Andies took the lead in overtime, the Tigers had the chance to tie but missed all five shots from the floor.

“We couldn’t convert,” said Jay coach Chris Bessey. “We had some good looks. When we had the lead, when we were tied and when we got behind, they just didn’t go in. Sometimes that happens. It’s unfortunate that it turned out that way.”

Welch led all scorers with 11 while Durrell added six for the Andies (9-1 ). Jay (7-3) got seven from Lexi Deering and five from Ashlee Quirrion.

“We knew we needed to step it up in overtime,” said Durrell. “We had to try to get open. It was whoever got open had to take the shot. You had to have confidence in yourself, and that’s what got us this win.”

The Andies scored the last five points of regulation to tie it. Welch had hit three free throws to cut the deficit to 21-19. Then Therrien hit her shot with 2:16 left.

Jay ran time off the clock and wanted to set up a last shot. The Tigers couldn’t produce the game-winner as the play broke down. Beth Moore got the ball inside but dished it back out for Alexis Blodgett, who had to rush a shot that missed.

“We kind of got scrambled while trying to get into it,” said Bessey. “Then when we did get into it, we didn’t get the play that we wanted and ended up forcing the shot.”

Jay won control of the ball to start overtime and tried to set up a shot but missed. The Andies got the game-winner on its first possession. Durrell got the ball in the corner and swished it with 2:22 left.

“It was a good screen by Kathryn Ventrella,” said Durrell. “It was whoever got open at that time. It was definitely a good team effort.”

The teams traded turnovers down the stretch, but Jay still had an opportunity to tie it. Beth Moore had a pair of shots in the paint that didn’t fall. Brittany DiPompo drew a foul with one second left and had a one-and-one but missed the first free throw.

“It definitely gave us all confidence,” said Durrell of the lead in overtime. “It really got us all motivated and played great defense the rest of overtime.”

Jay had opened the largest lead of the game with a 3 from Quirrion to end the third. Then Moore scored on a drive to open the fourth, making it 21-16. With Ventrella out of action with four fouls, the Tigers had the chance to take advantage. Jay shot just 1-for-6 in the fourth and never scored another point after Moore’s basket with 7:22 left in regulation.

“The one thing I was most disappointed in was that we didn’t do more when Ventrella went to the bench with four fouls,” said Bessey, whose team has held Ventrella without a field goal in both games this year. “I thought we should have separated ourselves a little more with her on the bench.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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