St. Viator soars with second-half roll
Guerin Prep probably gave the St. Viator's girls basketball team its toughest test thus far in a first half of the 2009 Snowflake Classic game.
But Lions coach Paul Bjerkness spoke the right words in the locker room - and his girls made sure there were no more tense moments after intermission.
Ronnie Mack scored 11 of her 13 points in the last two quarters, and Taylor Skala put in 8 of her 10 as the Lions outscored the Gators 36-14 en route to a 62-36 triumph.
So what was difference after the first half in which Viator led 26-22?
"We just got on a roll," said Skala, a junior guard who also had 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds. "We were able to pull away."
The Lions (11-4, 4-0 in the tourney) pulled away with defense, holding the Gators (10-5, 2-2 in the tourney) to 4 points in the third quarter.
St. Viator will face Highland Park (12-4, 4-0 in the tourney) in Saturday's 2 p.m. championship.
Former Prospect standout and three-sport athlete Abby Many is an assistant coach for the Giants, but she filled in for head coach Jolie Bechtel on Wednesday in a win over Fenton.
"Coach talked to us at half about controlling things with our defense," said Lions senior Megan McGrath, who scored 6 points with 3 assists. "We had to shut down their open player ."
The Gators connected for 4 3-pointers in the first half, three by sophomore guard Kalie DiNunno (13 points).
"We had to shut down their open outside shots," Mack said. "And we had to execute our offense."
The Lions did both, as they outscored Guerin 20-4 in the first nine minutes of the second half.
"I thought the defensive effort from Ronnie Mack and Megan McGrath was outstanding," Bjerkness said. "Defensively, that is how we like to play. It was a great effort collectively. And on offense, we got some real nice looks and the kids knocked them down."
Mary Calov added 13 points for the Lions, including a third quarter 3-pointer during the Lions' big rally. Top rebounders were Emily Leazer (5), McGrath (4) Meghan Malone (4) and Bridget Urbanus (4).
Guerin Prep had won its third straight game a few hours earlier in its own Guerin Yuletide Classic, topping Chicago Academy 43-25.
"Our girls were a little tired from that game," said Gators coach Johnnie Gates, a former North Central College and Wright Junior College basketball player who was drafted in the 23rd round of the 1976 NBA draft by the Bulls, then coached by Ed Badger.
"St. Viator is a real good shooting team and they played us a with a lot of pressure."