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Cover photo by David A Cleveland Photography (@PhotoDAC) / Twitter
The St. Joseph Academy Jaguars overcame a short bench, foul trouble and just not receiving the benefit of any close calls to defeat Bay Village tonight 57-44. That my friends, is a sign of a team with heart, and a sign of a team that is coached very well. They showed all facets of their game tonight and it led to a Jaguar victory.
Ella Neitzel and Ava Haddad led tonight in the absence of other starters and it showed with solid performances. Haddad had 13 points while scoring in every quarter. She also sparked several runs throughout the night as well. Neitzel was on the bad end of some calls, but still overcame it to finish with 14 points by attacking the rim. I absolutely love the way she drives the lane and forces contact. She is also solid from the foul line and nailed 2 three pointers in a good overall game.
When you’re down a few players, you look for big nights from anyone who touches the court, Lizzy Lenahan was that difference maker tonight. She stepped up big with 4 from long distance, as all 12 of her points came from beyond the three-point arc.
Samantha Kim has a tremendous handle on her and created several nice looking shots off the dribble and also pump fake. Kim finished with 9 clutch points. Mya White matched her size with scoring ability tonight as White came through with 9 and would have had more but several rolled in and out.
Bay Village has bounced back from a slow start to the season and looked strong as of late. The Rockets were paced by Chaeli Ziebarth with 10, 4 of which came from the foul line. The Bisson sisters continue to impress as Ruth and Lucy finished with 16 of their teams 44 points. Rory Marcis finished with 8 on the night, but the Jag defense clamped down on her in the second half as all 8 came in the first half.
After a Rory Marcis three ball drew first blood in favor of the Bay Village Rockets, it was Ella Neitzel firing back with 5 straight of her own to give the Jaguars an early 5-3 lead moments into the game.
The Jaguars would then open it up some more as made buckets by several players including 5 points from Ava Haddad increased the lead to 14-5 until another three pointer by Rory Marcis cut it to 14-8.
The Jaguars would finish the quarter on top by a score of 17-12 as Morgan Wearsch was crucial for them near the boards and ripping away rebounds from Rockets.
Five different Jaguars scored in the quarter as Lizzy Lenehan, Mya White, Ella Neitzel, Samantha Kim and Ava Haddad all found the bottom of the net.
The Rockets opened the first 3 minutes of the second quarter on a mini 7-2 run, capped off by a bank shotted three pointer from Emily Martin to tie the game at 19. A couple of Rory Marcis free throws would then give the Rockets their first lead since the early stages of the game by a score of 21-19 with 4:23 to play in the opening half.
Then down 22-20 a few possessions later, a Lizzy Lenahan three ball would hoist the Jaguars back on top 23-22. For Lizzy, that was her second of the game. The Rockets would tie it again only for Lizzy Lenahan to drain another one from long range to keep the Jags on top.
They would stay hot from long distance as moments later it was Samantha Kim connecting from deep to run the lead out to 30-24 with 2:53 to play in the half.
The Jaguars would finish the half on top 34-31 as Ella Neitzel was 4 of 4 from line as part of her 9 first half points. Lenahan also finished the first half with 9 while Ava Haddad had 9 as well. The three players combined for 27 of the teams 34 first half points.
Up only 34-31 to start the second half, the Jaguars needed to make a statement with a run and take a comfortable lead moving forward. They did exactly that as Mya White hit a three-pointer followed by a picture-perfect jump shot from Samantha Kim to extend the lead to 39-31. From there the SJA defense clamped down on the Rockets, holding them to 9 in the quarter and taking a 45-40 lead into the fourth.
A tremendous 9-2 run by the Jaguars to start the fourth quarter, gave them their largest lead of the game at 54-42 and put things away for good. Mya White and Ava Haddad Buckets sandwiched a Neitzel three ball in the blitzkrieg of points.
Down 57-44 at the two-minute remaining mark, Bay Village began to foul. Which really is the only reason the foul differential was close at the end, as it seemed like the rockets got the benefit of the whistle several times tonight. St. Josephs would close it out by a final of 57-44.
