St. Viator's Bergstrom duo sinks Jacobs

When defending the St. Viator girls basketball team in 2021-2022, you need to pick your poison.

The Lions connected on 10-of-18 from 3-point range for 55% including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half.

But the Lions proved they could pound the ball inside the paint connecting on 6-of-8 layups. Overall, St. Viator made 20-of-36 shots from the floor for 56%.

The result was a 57-36 win over Jacobs Friday night in second round action of the Dundee-Crown girls basketball tournament.

"We took the most available shots in the first half," said Lions coach Jason Raymond. "We hit some 3s which allowed us to get some paint touches. It was nice to have summer workouts this year. We developed on and off the court."

Sophomore Mia Bergstrom led the Lions with 21 points, connecting on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Bergstrom's sister Joy scored 18 with a pair of 3s.

"The sisters have been playing against each other for a long time," said Raymond. "They do a great job of playing off each other."

Senior Nora Ahram scored 8 with 2 treys while dishing off 5 assists.

With Mackenzie Leahy scoring 14 and Arriana Gurney tallying 9 points, the Golden Eagles (0-2) only trailed 37-29 after 3 quarters.

St. Viator seized control of the game to start the fourth quarter. With Joy Bergstrom scoring on 2 layups and Mia Bergstrom hitting a 10-footer in the lane the Lions scored the first 6 points to lead 43-29 with 6:22 remaining.

The Golden Eagles' first points of the quarter came on a putback by Leahy at the 5:24 mark to make the score 43-31. Jacobs couldn't get any closer.

Leahy led the Eagles with 16 points and 8 rebounds while Gurney scored 11 with 6 rebounds.

"We are still developing players," said Jacobs coach Jon Reibel. "We are really still learning."

Raymond praised Reibel and the Golden Eagles.

"They play really hard," said the Lions coach. "He (Reibel) does an unbelievable job."