St. Anne’s falls in VIS quarterfinals

The St. Anne’s-Belfield girls basketball team has overcome and overachieved this season — to say the least — but the Saints’ run came to an end in Wednesday’s VIS Division I quarterfinals, as a towering duo proved to be too much for STAB.

Liberty Christian’s senior combo of 6-foot-2 forward Jelena Antic and 6-foot-3 center Hanka Musa each scored 23 points and combined for 20 rebounds as the Bulldogs held off the Saints 61-51 to advance to the state semifinals this weekend in Fairfax.

“As long as I’ve been coaching, I haven’t had a team improve this much from Day One until now,” St. Anne’s coach Phil Stinnie said of his Saints, who began the season 0-4. “No one gave them a chance to be here at the end of the year, but they buckled down, worked hard, and made themselves a competitive basketball team and I’m proud of them for it.”

St. Anne’s sophomore forward Sarah Imovbioh did all she could, leading the Saints (12-10) with 18 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four steals and a block in the losing effort.

“[Imovbioh] didn’t get as many opportunities because of their size,” admitted Stinnie. “When you’ve got a 6-footer handling the ball who’s doubling down and another 6-footer behind you, it’s tough. She won’t face a duo like that the rest of her career.”

Senior Shelby Linthicum had a strong showing in her final game, finishing with 11 points (all after halftime), five rebounds and five steals. Fellow senior Chantel Baker added eight points, three boards and five steals of her own.

The Bulldogs (19-5) had it working early, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead on the Saints’ home floor, and led 14-4 after the first quarter, holding STAB to just one field goal.

“If you take away that first stretch, we play them even,” said Stinnie. “We put ourselves into a hole.”

The Saints bounced back as they have all season, cutting LCA’s lead to six by the break. Antic led all scorers with 15 at halftime, and Stinnie was hoping that his team could somehow put a clamp on the Macedonia-born Bulldog for the duration.

The Saints recorded 17 steals on the night and went to a halfcourt trap that converted those turnovers into points.

St. Anne’s answered the call, holding Antic scoreless in the third quarter, but that’s when Musa picked up her efforts, scoring eight of her team’s 12 points in the period. LCA led by nine going into the fourth, and Stinnie’s troops picked up the intensity on defense.

Linthicum scored seven points in the final quarter and the Saints got to within eight points on four occasions, but Antic and Musa combined for 17 of LCA’s 22 points to help LCA pull away.

Antic signed with Liberty University in November, while Musa (also from Macedonia) will attend Centenary College in Louisiana next season, both Division I programs. Liberty Christian head coach Mike Morris referred to Antic as a 6-foot player with the skills of a 5-foot-5 point guard who could do it all and is hard to guard.

“[Antic and Musa are] both D-I players, that’s what D-I players do,” Stinnie said. “They’re truly quality basketball players, they know the game and they have a passion for it.”

The graduation of Linthicum and Baker, along with fellow seniors Ladi Smith, Jackie Brayman, Bari Sisson, Erin Littlepage, Alexa Franco and Kim D’Angelo leave the Saints with a young and fairly inexperienced bunch next season, but Stinnie said that their leadership will leave an imprint on the STAB program for years to come.

“Shelby left it all on the floor tonight, and I’ve never had a kid play as hard as she has,” Stinnie said. “She’s given 110 percent and the effort is always there. I wish I could bottle it all up and give it to the rest of the kids next year. The leadership that grew with the seniors has tought the younger kids how to compete.”

Imovbioh, junior Dominique Pagan, freshman Lexi Peck and sophomore Addi Bolin will be asked to hoist the team on their collective shoulders next year, and Stinnie hopes that they can repeat the 2008-09 team’s achievements and return to the state tournament.