Gaels girls pull away for victory

January 16, 2007|by JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent

The St. Maria Goretti girls basketball team broke open a close contest with Bishop Walsh in the second half for a 41-25 victory Monday night at the Gael Center.

Junior forward Carissa Grove scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half for the Gaels (10-3).

"It was a great win for us," Goretti coach Todd Rideout said. "Carissa got hot in the second half and that was the offense that we needed. We kept feeding the ball to her."

Sarah Spierenburg, Kathleen Costello and Erica DiMercurio each grabbed six rebounds for Goretti. Spierenburg dished off four assists and Clara Spicer made four steals.

Chardae Harris scored 11 points and Kelly Smith had eight rebounds for the Spartans (6-9).

"We did not shoot the ball as well as we have in the past," Bishop Walsh coach Tracy Thomas said. "They are a little bigger than us, but that is no excuse. We did not play our game tonight."

Harris scored five points in the first quarter to help Bishop Walsh take a 9-6 lead.

Spierenburg scored the last six points of an 8-0 run by the Gaels in the second quarter as they took a 16-12 halftime advantage they never relinquished.

Grove scored all eight of Goretti's points in the third quarter as the Gaels led 24-19 entering the final eight minutes. They outscored the Spartans 17-6 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Melanie Connor and Costello opened up the period with baskets to increase the Gaels' advantage to 28-19. Grove scored 11 of Goretti's final 13 points.

"Bishop Walsh shot a lot of outside shots," Rideout said. "A lot of their shots weren't going in. There were a lot of times when we held them to one shot. Sarah was in foul trouble for us for most of the game. Sarah and Kathleen fouled out, but the good play from our reserves helped us overcome that. Angie Navarez, Melanie Connor and Stephanie Barton came off the bench and gave us a lift on defense."

The Gaels connected for 17 field goals, while the Spartans made only nine field goals.

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