Rachel Gregory of Loyola looks up court after collecting a rebound. (Kendall Rodriguez)

Madison Gordon had seen enough and it wasn’t pretty.

She watched her Horace Mann girls basketball team post a scoring drought of more than seven minutes over the third and fourth quarters. The Lions were relying on too many perimeter jump shots and were one and done all too often, yet only trailed by three as Loyola struggled equally.

“It was time to pull ahead,” the sophomore said. “It was time to turn it on.”

Gordon imposed her will on the game in the fourth. She scored nine of her 16 points, made all the hustle plays and contained Loyola star Rachel Gregory. Horace Mann rallied for a 37-31 win over the Lady Knights at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Fieldston Sunday.

“I had a rough start, but I just let the game come to me towards the end,” Gordon said. “I just needed it to come faster.”

She connected on a step back 3-pointer to tie the score at 25 early in the fourth and then completed a 3-point play to put Horace Mann (11-4) ahead 29-25 with 4:05 left. Minutes later, Gordon fought and dove on the floor for a rebound among three Loyola defenders that resulted in a Rachel Lander jumper and made clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

It is the type of late-game performance needed from Gordon with senior guard McKenzie Foster out for the season with a torn ACL. Clara Hill had nine points and was excellent on the glass and Sam Schiff added five.

“All the time, she really has to step up all the time,” Horace Mann coach Edwin Santiago said.

Gregory, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, did just that for Loyola (12-6) over the second and third quarters. It appeared the game would get away from the Lady Knights early as Horace Mann jumped ahead 9-0. It was until that point midway through the third that she controlled the game as Loyola rallied back. Gregory scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Sophomore Christina DiTolla had 15 points.

“She was an animal,” Hill said of Gregory.

She scored four straight points to help Loyola tie the score at 17 at the half and added a layup to give it a 22-19 lead with 5:41 to go in the third. The Lady Knights didn’t take advantage of their defense and the Horace Mann’s drought when it had the chance to seize the game.

“We rushed a little bit in the third quarter, we didn’t set up our offense as much,” Gregory said.

The Park Avenue school has just 100 girls in it, but is the top team and unbeaten in the GISAL. The Knights saw it as a good sign to be able to stay with a quality Ivy League squad.

“It always a challenge, but we seem to be up for it this year,” coach David Palladino said.

So was Gordon when it came to guarding Gregory, slowly reining her in and making life difficult for her in the fourth as her team’s shots finally started to fall. The Lions were able to penetrate more into the gaps of the Loyola defense.

“I wanted to just stop her,” she said. “It was time.”

Gordon’s, that is.