|
On paper it looked like a potential mismatch. Through the first four minutes of play, it appeared to be a blowout in the making. But visiting East Hampton made sure on Monday night that the St. Paul girls basketball team wouldn’t simply fly into the Class S state tournament’s second round.
When the Falcons soared to a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into last night’s contest, little could they have known that would be their largest advantage of the game. But while the Bellringers rebounded to take a halftime lead, it was St. Paul that eventually emerged with the 34-29 victory.
“I kind of expected it to be that kind of a game,” St. Paul coach Joe Mone said. “I expected it to be a close game.”
St. Paul’s Chelsea Mone (game-high 11 points) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the early going, and those shots combined with baskets from Amber Litwinko (10 points) and Adele Ruel (6 points) gave the Falcons their early lead with 4:23 to play in the first quarter.
But St. Paul (20-3) was held scoreless for the next seven minutes of play and was outscored 15-4 over the last half of the first quarter and the second quarter as East Hampton (8-13) took a 15-14 lead into halftime.
A pair of 3-pointers from Sarah Denihan (8 points) and one from Katie Dash (7 points) were a key part of that run for the Bellringers.
The Falcons, on the other hand, missed several 3-point attempts during that stretch and had few second-chance opportunities.
“We kind of hit a dry spell there,” coach Mone said.
The team took too many 3-pointers, he added.
“We got caught up with thinking that was the only way to win the game,” he said.
St. Paul came back strong in the second half, with a shot from Chelsea Mone 27 seconds into the third quarter giving the Falcons the lead again and a 3-pointer from her at the 6:37 mark pushing the advantage to a more comfortable four points.
While the Bellringers came back again to tie the game at 21 and were within two points for much of the fourth quarter, they never again regained the lead.
“We held on at the end and did a few things at the end that helped get things done,” coach Mone said.
“We did what we had to do to win, and the bottom line is win and move on.”
A late steal and Ruel hitting a pair of free throws on a 1-and-1 chance at the line helped clinch the game late for the Falcons.
“We are who we are. … We’re going to have these kind of games,” coach Mone said.
“The bottom line is, when you play good defense and rebound, chances are you’re going to move on.”
He said it was a game between two good teams, and that East Hampton’s record didn’t reflect its talent.
“Both [teams] took away each other’s offense, and it was down to who could make plays at the end of the game,” coach Mone said.
In an unusual occurrence for any game, especially one involving St. Paul, the opponents did not take a single free throw in the contest — and the Falcons only went to the line three times before the final minute of play.
“We’re usually very aggressive. They let us play tonight, which was to our benefit,” coach Mone said.
He game Ruel credit for helping to slow down Kelsey Booth (8 points), normally a key to the Bellringers’ offense.
“I just thought she did an excellent job defensively,” he said.
Next up for St. Paul is a home game against Terryville in the Class S second round on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Falcons beat the Kangaroos 41-36 in a second round game at home last season.
In the tournament, coach Mone said, “You’ve just got to play your best or you’re going to go home, regardless of the opponent.”
|
Athletics 
