by UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH– In the first annual Pink Power Preview, the Green Bulldogs and the St. Joseph Academy Jaguars squared off on Mike Moran Court at John Carroll University. The Bulldogs came back from an eight-point hole to a 25-21 victory Saturday night.
Green fell in an early 14-6 deficit in the first half due to some defensive lapses underneath the basket. St. Joe’s Senior Elise Larsen found herself wide open on three separate occasions, scoring all six of her points that way. Fellow senior guard Abbey Flannery was controlling the pace of the game and getting her teammates involved for the Jaguars.
But throughout the remainder of the ball game the Green Bulldogs continued to battle and slowly creeped back into it. Most of the credit goes to sophomore Jenna Slates. She was ultra-aggressive on the break and physical around the cup.
Coach Alicia Manning’s group led for the first time at the 5:44 mark in the second half and did not relinquish it. The defense locked down and threw the Jaguars out of sync. This scrimmage definitely felt like a playoff game.
Slates led Green and all scorers with nine points. Besides Larsen and Flannery looking sharp for SJA, senior wing Taylor Gregory also adds another dimension to this team. She added seven points, while raining in her lone three-point attempt. She showed great awareness by finding her own spots and cutting to the hoop.
Even though the Jaguars could not finish, it was still a rewarding experience for everyone involved with the Pink Power Preview. Head coach and founder of this event, Karen Swanson Haan spoke about how grateful she was for all of the support.
“The enthusiasm that has surrounded it has been just tremendous… from the inception of the idea to today and its final culmination it has just been really special.”
Coach Swanson -Haan also talked about how this was a great start to spread recognition for all the inspiring and hard-working women on the court and on the sidelines. She envisions this to be something even bigger down the road.
“I really think the sky’s the limit… whether we turn it into a tournament or keep it as a preview and open it up, expanding it more days… we definitely want to grow it.”
For coach Manning, they are looking to build on their strong campaign from last season. The Bulldogs won six of their last eight with one of those coming in the playoffs against Solon. That would be as far as they would get, losing to the Jackson Polar Bears.
If you watch this team play expect a never-quit attitude with lots of moxie. Slates is the biggest name to keep your eyes on but the entire squad can hurt their opponent in many ways, especially on defense. It is a younger group with seven out of the 12 being sophomores or freshman but they are certainly ready to compete.
Coach K will get her girls ready , she’s a proven winner . Watch joes late in the season… they will be ready . The one game I watched was John Hay vs Bay . How in the heck does John Hay beat Bay. I think I heard the coach from Bay is new well it showed .