St. Francis gets a little breathing room against IC
“We finally won one decisively” remarked St. Francis senior Sarah Holsinger Friday night.
She was probably only half-joking.
The Spartans let a 10-point fourth-quarter lead slip away at Immaculate Conception but held on for a 48-43 win.
St. Francis (7-3, 2-1 Suburban Christian Conference Blue) had split a pair of 1-point games in the last week, losing at St. Edward Saturday and winning at Rosary in overtime Tuesday.
“We’ve had a whole lot of close games,” St. Francis coach Jeff Gerdeman said. “We like to keep it interesting for the fans.”
Spartans senior guard Kelly Reinke had an outstanding all-around game, scoring 18 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Her two free throws with 5.9 seconds left finally iced the win.
“I’m definitely getting in better shape,” said Reinke, who missed all of her junior year with a torn ACL. “It was hard sitting out a year, but I feel like I’m getting back into the swing of it.”
IC (7-5, 1-2) trailed 41-31 going into the fourth quarter but came all the way back to within 45-43 with 1:59 left on a pair of Kellyanne Remy jumpers. The Knights had a possession for the tie, but Kaleigh Dempsey back-rimmed a tough shot in traffic. Dempsey missed a 3-pointer for the lead with less than a minute left, and IC turned the ball over after Lauren Pisarski’s free throw had given St. Francis a 46-43 lead.
IC coach Aubree Lawrence appreciated the comeback. She also recognized what put her team in the hole to begin with.
“We have a couple things that have been kind of plaguing us for a while,” Lawrence said, “and we need to make the adjustments. We’ve been pretty inconsistent with a couple things. They’ll get it.”
IC broke out quickly in the game, taking a 13-9 lead after a quarter. The Knights led by as many as 8, and it was 22-15 with 4:38 left in the half after Allie DiVito’s fourth 3-pointer.
St. Francis came back to take a 27-26 halftime lead, and after IC scored the first basket of the second half the Spartans went ahead for good with a 10-0 run.
During one stretch in the second and third quarters, Reinke accounted for 20 of the Spartans’ 22 points by way of 12 points and 4 assists.
“She’s aggressive. She likes to attack,” Gerdeman said. “She’s used to being the point, we kind of got her playing a little bit different position but she’s been fantastic. Great attitude and a great kid.”
Reinke fed Fiona McMahon for two baskets and a 37-28 lead. At the other end St. Francis switched defenses to a zone and held IC without a field goal for nearly 9 minutes. McMahon had 13 points and 7 rebounds for St. Francis.
DiVito scored 12 points and Dempsey 10. Remy’s 11 points and 11 rebounds didn’t go unnoticed by her coach.
“I call her the quiet contributor,” Lawrence said. “What she does, you don’t notice it until you watch the film. She always seems to be in the right place at the right time.”