SR. GIRLS

“ICE IN HER VEINS”

Ella Zachary hit a corner three in transition with 18 seconds left to go in the game as the St. Mary’s Knights improved to 2-0 with a 48-47 victory over the Superior Heights Steelhawks.

Ashlyn Noble of the Knights led all scorers with 19 points.  Zachary finished with 11 points and Payton Magli chipped in with 8.

For Superior Heights, Taya Shackleton was great on both sides of the floor and had a team high 17 points.  Sadie Grawbarger poured in 16 points and had 5 block shots and team Emmalie Allard added 8.

The game went back and forth all game long and both teams appeared to be in midseason form. Both teams did a nice job against tough defenses to find open shots and drives to basket.  The teams battled back and forth and the first half ended with the Steelhawks up 26-23.

The second half would see the Knights switch from the 2-3 zone they played in the first half to a man to man defense.  The Steelhawks took time to respond the the change and trailed 41-35 after 3 quarters.  The fourth quarter was filled with back and forth action with great play by both teams on both sides of the floor.  With 55 seconds left to go tied 45-45,  the Steelhawks Danica Niro hit Emmalie Allard on a back door cut from the right 45 to give Superior Heights a two point lead.  Then with 28 seconds left, the Steelhawks 3 point shot was long and was rebounded by the Knights Ashlyn Noble.  Ashlyn then quickly hit Payton Magli who was ahead in transition down the right sideline.   Once Magli caught the ball she quickly drove baseline and found a wide open Ella Zachary in the opposite corner.  Zachary calmly nailed the 3 giving St. Mary’s a 48-47 lead.  After the subsequent time out by Superior Heights, Noble stole the inbounds pass to seal the deal.

St. Mary’s head coach Dave Zagordo was proud of his teams play, even more so due to the fact that they were short handed.

“We knew Superior Heights was going to come to play tonight with the return of Emmalie Allard.  It was a hard fought game from start to finish.  We were without 6 players tonight, leaving us with only 8 , so I was extremely pleased with how they battle right to the end.  I’m very proud of how they finished the game”

Steelhawks bench boss Marc Lesage enjoys coaching in tight games and enjoyed watching both teams battle back and forth.

“Basketball is a game of runs, and it felt like whoever went on the last run was going to win the game.  It was only the second game of the season but it felt like a playoff game out there tonight. For us, I thought Sadie Grawbarger played a great two way game. Taya Shackleton was our leading rebounder from the point guard position and did a nice job quarterbacking the offense.  Emmalie was strong on both sides of the floor and a big boost to our club.  I’m proud of these girls and was really impressed with the play of some of our first year players.”

JR. GIRLS

“TOO MUCH…..TOO OFTEN”

St. Mary’s flexed their muscle early and often with a talented and balanced roster on their way to a 52-14 victory over Superior Heights.  Kyla Viotto lead the way with a team high 9 points.  Sienna Magli had a strong game and chipped in with 7.

Lily Rumiel scored 4 points for the Steelhawks while teammates Yeah Yule and Scarlett Duke each had 3.

Photo courtesy of Freeze Frame

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