Strong second half sends St. Viator past Wheeling
St. Viator girls basketball coach Jason Raymond said his Lions hadn't played against a zone defense for a few weeks.
Trailing Wheeling 14-13 at half, the host Lions were sure zoned in on offense in the final two quarters at their Cahill Gymnasium.
They more than doubled their scoring from the first two quarters en route to a 44-35 victory over a stubborn Wildcats team that was without junior forward Morgan Collar, who plans to have knee surgery within a month.
"The intensity was there but not as strong at is could have been in the first half," said Lions 5-foot-10 senior forward Bridget DeZellar. "We picked it up in the second half and started playing better as a team."
After Wheeling freshman Sam Janulis (6 points) hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 3-3, St. Viator didn't lead again until senior Elise Horbach's 3-pointer made it 17-16 with 5:48 left in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Chloe Drozdz (8 points) gave the visitors their last lead at 23-22 before the Lions went on a 7-1 run.
Lions sophomore Emma Morrissey (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) rebounded her own shot for a layup and a 27-23 lead.
DeZellar then blocked a shot into the hands of Sam DeJulio and the Lions ended up getting 2 free throws from freshman Joy Bergstrom for a 29-23 lead after three quarters.
DeZellar started the fourth quarter with a deflection and steal leading to a 3-pointer from Bergstrom and the Lions were on their way to their 17th win in 22 games.
"Bridget does a nice job defensively," Raymond said. "She got some steals, played tough down low, and that's what we expect from her.
"She's been doing that for two years now. She brings a lot of energy and a lot of athleticism. She kind of anchors us in the middle and it's nice to have her coming off the bench. She's a tough kid like that."
Bergstrom led the Lions with 15 points. She also collected 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists while Horbach added 9 points (three 3-pointers) with 5 rebounds.
"We hadn't seen a zone and it's one of those things where you are playing on a Monday night and we don't typically practice well on Monday nights," Raymond said. "Then Wheeling threw a tough zone at us and it took us a little while to get adjusted. Once we did, we did some good things.
"I thought we handled the end of the game real well. We didn't have any turnovers at the end and we had good composure throughout the game."
Wildcats assistant coach Bill Murmann was in charge for Matt Weber, who welcomed a baby boy, Andrew Richard, into his family.
"That was fun," said Raymond, whose assistant Maggie Miskowicz starred at Wheeling. "Congratulations to coach Weber on his new son."
Murmann is a former head girls basketball coach at Viator and took the Lions to the 2002 sectional championship. He was also the head coach at Schaumburg.
"I have a lot of fond memories here," he said. "And now I have this one tonight to go along with them."
Nosa Igiehon was a force inside for the Wildcats (9-11), scoring 18 points in the first game without her front line partner Collar, who will miss the remainder of the season.
"I'm happy with the way the team responded after Morgan's injury (Friday night against Elk Grove)," Murmann said. "The girls worked really hard. St. Viator's press really did not affect us. We knew eventually they'd hit some shots which they did in second half. We couldn't keep pace offensively but I'm really proud of the girls' effort."