Spartans stay calm despite IC surge
Tuesday's game against visiting Immaculate Conception was typical of the St. Francis girls basketball team's up-and-down season. But in the end it turned out to be more up than down.
After building a 20-6 halftime lead, the Spartans withstood a third-quarter surge by the Knights and secured a 53-41 in Suburban Catholic Conference play.
"They weathered the storm," said St. Francis coach Leslie Fay-Dehn. "They did a good job of being patient and getting the ball down low at the end of the third and through the fourth quarter. Our passing and our defense were both good tonight."
The Spartans (6-9, 2-4) were able to pull away early despite playing most of the first-half without center Jamie Stefely, who was on the bench with two fouls for almost 12 minutes.
Forward Jenny Eldridge picked up the rebounding duties, grabbing 9 of her team-high 11 rebounds before the intermission.
In the second half the Knights' offense, which had been misfiring in the early going, was fueled by an effective zone press.
Led by three Jordyn Platt steals, the Knights (6-13, 1-5) went on a 9-pont run and cut the deficit to 31-25 with less than a minute to go in the third period.
"We wanted to come out strong in the third quarter to send a message," said the Spartans' Fay-Dehn. "But we didn't get many shots and we threw the ball away a lot. We didn't have the high energy we had at the beginning of the game, and I think we got a little anxious."
Toward the end of the third quarter, Stefely, who finished as the Spartans' top scorer with 15, re-established the inside game with a pair of baskets.
Kelly Reinke scored the Spartans' first 7 points of the final quarter to reconstruct a 13-point lead.
Reinke finished with 14. Stefely grabbed 10 boards and blocked 4 shots.
"It was a great victory for us," Stefely said. "The whole team worked the ball well in the first half and then in the fourth quarter."
Mary Kate Manion of Immaculate Conception was the game's high scorer with 21 points, 18 in the second half.
"Mary Kate has been battling all season," said Knights coach Dan Murray. "She does everything we ask of her."
Murray thought his team lacked consistency, a problem that has plagued the Knights all season.
"In the first half we didn't play badly, we just shot poorly from the foul line and missed a lot of layups," Murray said. "We did a good job to hold them to 20."
In the second half the Knights were able to put the ball in the basket.
"The press helped us make that run," Murray said. "Then every chance we had to cut the lead to 6 or 4, we couldn't get the big rebound or we didn't rotate on defense. We have to learn how to be consistent and keep ourselves in the game."