Gaels win second straight, but tough road lies ahead

January 27, 2003|By JACK HILL III

The St. Maria Goretti Gaels have recovered from a three-game losing streak by winning their last two.

Goretti defeated the St. James Saints 52-34 on Saturday afternoon at the Gael Center.

"Right now, we're playing pretty decent ball," Gaels coach Todd Rideout said. "All five of our next opponents are in the Herald-Mail top 10 poll. Right now, we are trying to play within our strengths."

Senior forward Katie Chambers had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for Goretti (14-7). Sophomore forward Tasha Deneen scored 14 points, while senior point guard Kelly Wills contributed nine points and six assists for the Gaels.

"Kelly Wills did a good job of looking up the court and finding Katie Chambers and Tasha Deneen open for some easy transition buckets," Rideout said. "We had a well-balanced attack offensively from top to bottom. We were pounding the ball inside trying to get some easy layups."

Katie Graham, a senior forward, led St. James (1-10) with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Senior point guard Teresa Pecoraro got nine points on a trio of three-pointers and also had five steals.

"We played fairly well," Saints coach Ted Camp said. "We just couldn't get the ball to drop. It was just one of those things."

Goretti got the first six points of the second quarter on a bucket by Katie Martin and a pair of baskets by Chambers for a 21-11 lead, and the Gaels led by at least seven the rest of the way.

Goretti 52, St. James 34

ST. JAMES (34)

Rosenthal 7, Kopp 6, Graham 11, Davis 1, Pecoraro 9. Totals 13 4-10 34.

ST. MARIA GORETTI (52)

Deneen 14, H. Mothershead 3, A. Mothershead 2, Wills 9, Chambers 16, Martin 8. Totals 22 7-11 52.

St. James11869-34

Goretti15131014-52

Three-point goals - St. James 4 (Graham, Pecoraro 3), St. Maria Goretti 1 (Wills). JV - St. Maria Goretti, 40-20 (Goretti: Heidi Mothershead 17).

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