Green Wave can't sustain its intensity
Locked in a 28-28 halftime battle with St. Edward Tuesday night, the Driscoll girls basketball team needed a spark.
And that's just what the Highlanders got from their only senior starter, 5-foot-11 forward Bridget Delboccio.
Delboccio scored 6 of her 8 points in the third quarter as Driscoll outscored host St. Edward 16-8 in the period and then went on to a 60-47 Suburban Catholic Conference victory in Elgin.
"Being a senior it's my last chance to play with this team," said Delboccio, who hit a runner in the lane with 5:52 left in the third quarter that gave Driscoll the lead for good at 32-30.
"We knew (St. Edward) went downstate last year and we wanted to come in here and beat them and earn some respect. It was really important for us to win, especially after losing to Rosary (last week). Beating St. Edward here is a big deal for us. No one knows who we are. We're 9-1 and we get no credit."
If the Highlanders (9-1, 3-1) continue to play with the intensity they showed Tuesday night, they'll be opening some eyes soon. And it was the lack of second-half intensity that disappointed St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson.
"We came out of the locker room (at halftime) and the defensive intensity was gone," said Dawson, whose team dropped to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. "The defensive intensity has to be there for 32 minutes and it wasn't tonight."
The Green Wave started out just fine. With junior scoring machine Katie Yohn ripping off 12 points in the first quarter and senior center Celeste VonAhnen scoring 8 in the second quarter, the Wave led 22-16 after 2 free throws from Megan Pozezinski with 5:38 left in the half.
But Driscoll was limiting Yohn's touches by then, holding her scoreless in the second quarter on 0 of 4 shooting. And, the Highlanders found their shooting touch. Trailing 26-22, freshman Alexandra Divito (11 points) and sophomore Taylor Reaber (16 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Driscoll a 28-26 lead with 55 seconds left in the half.
A VonAhnen turnaround in the lane tied the game just before the halftime buzzer but then the second half belonged to Driscoll. The Highlanders not only shot 11-for-24 from the floor in the second half, they also limited St. Edward to just 8 of 27 shooting. Using a rotation of players to deny Yohn the ball, she was just 3-for-13 after the first quarter, finishing with 19 points and 9 rebounds with Bradley University assistant coach Jeni Garber looking on.
"Yohn has improved so much," said Driscoll coach Steve McCuiston of St. Edward's leader, who tweaked an ankle late in the game, an injury that appeared mild and one Dawson said she hopes is just a slight sprain.
"She can shoot so well when she puts the ball on the floor. The bottom line is you don't want her to have the ball in her hands and in the second half our kids finally understood that."
Delboccio's basket to put the Highlanders up 32-30 sparked a 9-0 run and even though St. Edward closed to within 6 early in the fourth quarter, they never got closer. Driscoll's biggest lead was 58-45 with 1:10 to go and then the final score.
"We've got some shooters on this team and a post player we go to. It's nice to have someone like (Delboccio) that can give us things without the ball and she gives us that."
Six-four sophomore Courtney Lindfors added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks for Driscoll while junior Gigi DiGrazia had 9 points. VonAhnen had 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Wave while Pozezinski and sophomore Kristi Knott each contributed 6 points.