The St. Mary’s girls basketball team led host Bishop Fenwick (6-4) 28-25 at halftime on Friday night, but the final score read 71-45 in favor of the Spartans, giving them an 11-1 record.
For the second Friday in a row, an explosive third quarter was the difference-maker as the Spartans outscored the Crusaders by 20 points in the frame.
“I think our speed [and] our length on defense in the third quarter was really the difference,” St. Mary’s head coach Jeff Newhall said. “We didn’t do anything drastically different in the second half, we just took care of the ball a little bit better, made better decisions, and our defensive pressure was much better without fouling.”
As he knew heading into the season, Bishop Fenwick head coach Adam DeBaggis said there was “a lot of inexperience,” but gave credit to the Spartans for making things difficult.
“That’s how they [Spartans] get the bulk of their points: turnovers and fastbreak. If you can limit that stuff, you can play with them, but it’s hard.” DeBaggis said. “That’s a lot of pressure for a freshman…”
Another difference-maker: St. Mary’s Niya Morgen. The senior guard scored 24 points in versatile fashion, dominating on the fastbreak and burying three from downtown.
“She [Morgen] loves the game,” Newhall said. “In the second half, she just kind of took the game over. I’m not shocked. She’s a basketball player [and] this is a big basketball game.”
St. Mary’s Yirsy Queliz scored 18 points, while Bella Owumi added 17.
“Sometimes when you have a variety of scorers, let’s face it, people can be selfish, but I don’t think that’s the case at all,” Newhall said. “For us, offensively, we try to do things where anyone can have the ball, anyone can set the screen, and anyone can shoot it.”
After the Spartans took a 15-6 lead after one, the second was all Fenwick. Junior Cecilia Kay, who had 21 points, impressed with three quick baskets at the rim.
“A lot of what we do in our defense is to try to stop her [Kay],” Newhall said. “She’s one of the best players in the state.”
Freshman Anna Fertonani scored a layup off the glass to beat the halftime buzzer, cutting the Spartans’ lead to 28-25. After years of facing them, Newhall said he “wasn’t surprised” the Crusaders came back.
On the other side, DeBaggis loved what he saw in the quarter.
“If we play like we did in the second quarter, we’re looking a lot better,” DeBaggis said.
But St. Mary’s, in its road navy jerseys, changed the story. In a third quarter that ended with the Spartans leading 54-31, Quiz put the pressure on when she buried a three to beat the buzzer.
Themes continued in the fourth. Fenwick’s turnovers piled up and St. Mary’s capitalized. Morgen connected on a circus-finish at the rim, plus the foul, with just under three minutes remaining – the exclamation point on a dominating second half from the visitors.
The Crusaders never quit, but time ran out on them with the final score favoring St. Mary’s 71-45. Despite the loss, DeBaggis said he remains excited about his team’s youth and “definitely” looks forward to the future.
“That’s the fun part about coaching – it never gets boring,” DeBaggis said.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Fenwick hosts Central Catholic, and St. Mary’s welcomes Newton South.
