Bergstrom, Ahram carry St. Viator over Prospect
St. Viator's Joy Bergstrom and Nora Ahram, both juniors were just a little too much for Prospect Thursday night.
In a nonconference girls basketball game at St. Viator's Cahill gymnasium the Lions improved to 2-0 with a 62-48 win over the 3-2 Knights.
Bergstrom scored 21 points to go with 4 rebounds while Ahram tallied 16 points to go with her 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
"It was good to come out and play a local team," said Bergstrom. "We had a good scouting report on them. We played well as a team."
The Knights encountered difficulties in the first quarter with 10 turnovers. The miscues resulted in a 16-7 lead for St. Viator at the end of the quarter.
Ahram scored 8 points in the quarter and Bergstrom 4 points.
"St. Viator came out with energy and put us in a hole," said Prospect coach Matt Weber. "They took advantage of our mistakes at both ends of the court."
The Lions increased their lead at the halftime break to 30-16.
Prospect came out aggressive in the third quarter with a 12-0 run to narrow the St. Viator margin to 30-28 with 4:43 remaining.
Bergstrom hit on a 3-pointer for the silencer. Eliot Dojutrek, who would lead the Knights with 11 points, cut the lead back to 33-30 but the momentum had changed.
Abby Longstreet connected for a basket and Bergstrom scored the last 7 points for St. Viator to lead 42-30.
Prospect could come no closer than 45-35 with 6:12 left in the game.
"It's the second game in a row that we came out sluggish in the second half," said St. Viator coach Jason Raymond. "So it's one of two things. Either the kids aren't ready for the second half and I have to find a way or it's bad coaching."
Both Bergstrom and Raymond praised Ahram.
"She's great to have as a point guard," said Bergstrom. "She looks for the player who is open or the cutter. Tonight she found players open."
"We needed to have the ball in Nora's hand tonight," said Raymond. "She was just fantastic. Her presence on the court was important."
Emma Morrisey and Mia Bergstrom each scored 8 points for St. Viator.
Summer Srodulski scored 10 points for the Knights. Mia Gusloff added 8 points.
"We made a nice third quarter run at them," said Weber. "Bergstom hit that big shot and that took the momentum away from us."
"This team has a lot of heart and pride," said Raymond. "When we didn't start the season on time, I was devastated. The possibility of not being able to coach these seniors would be tough. I'm grateful that we could play."