Led by a tenacious defensive effort and sophomore guard Haley Kent’s 12 points, the St. Anne’s-Belfield girls basketball team dominated Episcopal from the opening tip Saturday afternoon to win, 54-21.
The Saints opened the game by draining their first three 3-point shots and controlling the rebounding on both ends of the floor. Nkechi Llang scored on a layup after five consecutive offensive rebounds during one possession in the first period. Each trip down the court for Episcopal turned out to be an adventure with the Saints eventually stealing a pass or forcing a bad shot on nearly every possession. Guard play for St. Anne’s churned out fast break after fast break, which led to easy baskets and open jump shots for the Saints.
“We really wanted to focus on our defense creating opportunities for our offense. When we use our speed and athleticism on defense, it really generates offense for us,” said STAB coach Phil Stinnie.
Episcopal managed only two points off of one made field goal in the first half, leaving St. Anne’s with a 35-2 advantage at the break.
Despite a 33-point halftime deficit, Episcopal continued to play hard and keep its composure in the second half. STAB slowed the pace and ran clock while Stinnie was able to dig deep onto his bench and give many of his players valuable experience. The Maroon finally netted their second basket of the game at the 5:06 mark of the third period and baskets began to fall a little bit easier for them as the half ran down, eventually ending with a convincing victory for the Saints.
“This is the first time that we have really been healthy in about a month,” Stinnie said. “When we are healthy and we are clicking, we can be really good. I’m proud of our effort, especially on defense today.”
Sophomore Larissa Rogers scored nine points for the Saints, while Margaret Griles and Lexi Peck each finished with eight points to end the regular season on a high note for STAB.
Hayley Lyerly paced the Maroon with seven points, all of which were scored in the second half.
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