Fabbri sticks with it, helps Viator to victory

With 4:12 remaining in the first half, Erin Fabbri was in pain on the floor of the Cahill Gymnasium.

In the second half, Fabbri and her St. Viator girls basketball team were a pain for visiting Resurrection.

Fabbri scored all 6 of her baskets in the final two quarters and finished with a game-high 16 points as the Lions won their third straight game with a 61-44 triumph over the Bandits.

Despite suffering a bruised bone below her left knee, Fabbri was the real bandit as she came up with 8 steals in addition to 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

"Erin's a gamer," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness of his 5-foot-8 sophomore guard. "She found openings, got big baskets, kept moving around and played a little defense, too."

The Lions (7-4) got a little from everyone as they expanded a 31-28 halftime lead to 45-34 advantage after three quarters.

"I wanted to go back in," said Fabbri, a graduate of St. Emily in Mt. Prospect who left the gym with ice on her bruise. "It hurt, but I wanted to keep playing. We just played as a team. That was the most important thing."

Fabbri's 12-footer off an assist from senior Lauren Rooney gave Viator a 54-43 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Moments later, Fabbri went coast-to-coast following her eighth rebound for a layup and 56-43 lead.

"Erin bounced back real strong," said Rooney, who also had a strong game with 12 rebounds, 6 blocked shots and 4 assists. "She really helped us keep our energy.

"We have a lot of team chemistry and we definitely had a lot of energy coming off that win (33-32) over Conant on Tuesday."

Viator trailed 27-26 late in the second quarter when junior Jennie Horstmann (9 points) fired home a 3-pointer from the baseline to give Viator the lead for good.

It sparked a 16-3 run which ended with Viator ahead 44-30 late in the third quarter.

"Jennie did a great job off the bench" Bjerkness said. "She was perfect from the free throw line (6 of 6 in the fourth quarter) and hit that huge 3-pointer for us. And Lauren (Rooney) is always solid for us inside."

Senior Mallory Hess (4 rebounds) chipped in 11 points for the Lions while her sister Morgan (7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocked shots) added 10 points.

Junior Alyssa Ruehl scored 12 of her 14 points in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.

"I thought one of the keys to the game was the adjustment we made on defense at half," Bjerkness said. "And a lot of that credit goes to Morgan Hess, who did a nice job Ruehl.

"I thought Mallory also played well. She made some nice decisions offensively at the end of the game."

Senior Abbie Witczak added 11 points for Resurrection (6-7), which was missing two key players to injuries in senior Anne Larsen and junior Kelly Barzowski.

"Keith (Miniscalco, Bandits coach) does a nice job with them," Bjerkness said. "Whenever we play Resurrection, we know it will be a dogfight. They are physical, patient and give a tremendous defensive effort."

Katie Gavin added 8 points for Viator with 3 assists and 2 steals.

"Katie got a couple of huge steals to get us going," Bjerkness said. "I also thought Mary Cleary did a terrific job inside.

"This is the third game where we are getting better. It was a little different situation at the end (holding on to a lead). But we finished again. As long we finish, that's the bottom line."

The Lions are off until Dec. 21 when they start play in their own Snowflake Classic.

"We are definitely on a high note," Rooney said. "Hopefully we can continue on our winning streak at our tournament."