It wasn’t pretty for most of the game, but the way this season has gone for the Sacred Heart girls basketball team, any win looks pretty good.
The Lady Crusaders, who have had key players miss large parts of the season due to COVID-19 protocols, struggled to get momentum going, but rallied in the fourth quarter to pull away from Lumberton 37-27 Tuesday night at the Sacred Heart gym.
Sacred Heart improved its overall record to 15-2 and clinched the top seed for the Region 8-1A Tournament, remaining undefeated in region play at 6-0. Lumberton dropped to 4-5 and 4-2.
“We didn’t play very well,” said Lady Crusaders coach Matt O’Keefe. “Lumberton did a good job of controlling the tempo and they slowed our pace down.
“The most glaring thing for us is that two of our best players are just getting back from quarantine and have not had a lot of practice time, and it really showed tonight.”
It was the first time O’Keefe has had his full roster available since mid-December, and much of the game was marked by sloppy play and missed shots. In fact, the two teams combined for more turnovers (10) in the first quarter than points, as the period ended with a 4-4 tie.
The second quarter was a little better, but not much, with Sacred Heart leading at halftime 10-7.
“It’s been tough,” said Sacred Heart junior Gracie Falla, who played for the first time in two weeks. “It’s been a weird season. Avery (Smith) came back for one game, then – boom – she was back out.
“You can’t really do anything about it, so we’re just trying to make the best of it and get back in the swing of things.”
It was Lumberton that made the first significant move in the second half, ripping off a 9-0 run to grab an 18-12 lead.
Kirsten Joseph, the Lady Panthers’ leading scorer, hit a jump shot from 16 feet to put Lumberton ahead, then swished a 3-pointer from the left wing, and McKayla Howington followed with another 16-footer to cap the rally.
But sophomore guard Avery Smith started Sacred Heart on the comeback trail late in the period with a trey from the left baseline.
Then she found the same spot from six feet out to pull the Lady Crusaders to within one at the end of the period, 18-17, after Sacred Heart forced Lumberton into turnovers on consecutive possessions.
“We slowed the ball down, even though the pace was already slow,” said senior center Kate Gallardo. “We were turning the ball over a lot and rushing our shots.
“We knew we had to pass the ball better, and we picked up the pace on defense. We were able to get some steals and that caused some fast-break points.”
Falla finally got going in the fourth quarter, beating the Lady Panthers down the floor for a fast break layup to put Sacred Heart ahead for good, as the Lady Crusaders scored 14 unanswered points to take command.
Falla had 9 of her team-high 11 points in the final period.
“(Joseph) is an outstanding player, with good ball skills, but I thought Avery did a real good job defending her in the fourth quarter,” said O’Keefe. “Then we started getting a lot of good shots and started making them.”
Indeed, Sacred Heart was 8 of 15 from the field in the fourth quarter, and only committed two turnovers in the period.
Smith finished with nine points for Sacred Heart, and Gallardo added 8 points. Junior forward Mallory Gilberson only had 5 points, but it was enough to put her over the 1,000-point mark for her career with the Lady Crusaders. Joseph led all scorers with 18 points for Lumberton.
“We just have to do the best we can,” said Gallardo. “I feel like we have a long way to go, but I think we’ll pick it up. We know we have to play better.”
In the boys game, Lumberton used stiff defense in the second half to stymie the cold-shooting Crusaders, remaining undefeated in region play at 7-0 with a 51-40 victory.
Sacred Heart hung around through the first half, hitting 7 of 13 shots in the second quarter, but the Panthers matched that, converting 8 of 14 from the field in the same period, and Lumberton led 32-24 at halftime.
And the Crusaders couldn’t buy a basket in the second half, missing all 12 of their shots in the third quarter, as Lumberton built as much as a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
Tyler Bush led Lumberton (7-2 overall) with 17 points, and Hayden Campbell added 10 points. Luke Wiest led Sacred Heart (5-12, 3-5) with 13 points.
Lumberton will host Richton on Thursday while Sacred Heart will conclude the season against Slyva Bay Academy.
