Strong second-half start sends St. Viator to win No. 12
It's been said the most important part of a basketball game is the first few minutes of the second half.
That's exactly what Marian Central Catholic girls basketball coach Tony Powe said was the difference in St. Viator's 52-43 win over his Hurricanes in Wednesday's East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Arlington Heights.
“We started out well (13-6 lead) and then they went on a big run,” he said. “But where they really got us was that 7-0 start to start the second half.”
Junior Michaela Mueller's layup off a fastbreak gave the Lions a 30-28 lead heading into intermission after they had trailed by as many as 7 points.
They proceeded to start the third quarter with a 6-footer from senior Jenna Breslin, a driving layup by Mueller and a 3-pointer by junior Olivia Solimene to take a 37-28 lead with 4:28 left in the period.
The visitors pulled to within 4 points when junior guard Vannessa Garrelts (game-high 23 points with three 3-pointers) hit a 17-footer with 6:47 left in the game. But that's as close as they got.
Junior Myia Clark answered with a driving bank shot and Solimene pulled up for an 8-foot jumper as Viator closed out the game in strong fashion.
The Lions evened their record at 12-12 and improved to 3-3 in the ESCC while Marian Central dropped to 8-13 and 0-4.
“We just wanted to keep moving in the right direction before the state tournament,” said Mueller, who led the Lions with 13 points followed by Clark (11) and Solimene (10).
Breslin and Maddie Fitzpatrick, both alumni of Saint Anne in Barrington, chipped in 6 points apiece.
Breslin also played a key role on the boards, grabbing 8 in the second half, including 3 on the offensive end.
“They have a presence on the inside,” Powe said. “We couldn't keep No. 20 (Breslin) off the glass.”
“She's the Moses Malone of rebounding, without the dunk at the end,” said Lions coach Jason Raymond, referring to one of the all-time great NBA offensive rebounders.
The Lions played the second quarter without Solimene, who picked up her second foul with 0.4 seconds left in the first quarter.
“I thought Michaela and our bench did a great job of stepping up when Olivia got in foul trouble,” Raymond said. “Loreto Dugo gave us some valuable minutes, doing a nice job in the interior.”
Garrelts' back-to-back 3-pointers gave Marian Central its last lead at 28-25 with 1:31 left in the first half.
The Lions answered with a 3-pointer from Clark and Mueller's layup that made it 30-28.
“We had to focus on our defense and shut down No. 4 (Garrelts who has a career high of 33 points against Aldon-Hebron),” Mueller said. “We had to key on her and that made a difference.”
“I felt we let her (Garrelts) get too loose in the first half,” Raymond said. “And Michaela did a nice job switching over to her and defending her for the majority of the game. I thought Michaela showed great poise as the game went on and she gave us a lift with her scoring.”
Senior Sarah Schade and junior Haley Robinson also scored for the Lions who will be back at the Cahill Gymnasium to host Wheeling on Saturday at 6 p.m.
“We knew from history that Marian Central is a team that battles and never gives up,” Raymond added. “We knew it would be a tight game. But every run they made at us, we had an answer.”