SHELBY — St. Peter’s threw a defensive blanket at Galion during the second half of Saturday morning’s Richland Source Girls Basketball Challenge.
It was the first game in a six-contest event that ran all day. It was played close most of the way, but the tide turned when that wrap stifled the Tigers completely, leading to an 0-of-11 shooting performance in the third quarter and eventually propelling the Spartans to a 54-47 victory.
“We’ve installed a new defensive philosophy this year and the girls are just now starting to figure out what they’re supposed to do,” said first-year coach Todd Perdas. “We’re starting to get things figured out on the defensive end of the floor.”
Galion (2-7) finished the first quarter on a 9-2 blitz to take a 14-10 edge, and led 27-23 at halftime. But coach Nick Vukovich sensed his team hitting the wall in the third period.
“We’ve had a problem maintaining our intensity all year,” Vuckovich said of his squad, which also played on Friday night. “You could tell the girls were sorta dead.
“We were resilient though. They gave us everything they could.”
St. Peter’s allowed just four free throws in the third period, while scoring 10 straight to end the frame and claim a 35-31 edge heading to the final quarter.
The Tigers cut the margin to a single possession on a number of occasions, but the Spartans (2-3) protected their advantage by drilling 12 of 15 free throws to claim the victory.
“Our goal coming in was to get 200 passes and we didn’t do that. We got 148, but that is still by far more than we’ve had all year,” Perdas said. “We just wanted to do a better job of getting the ball moving. When the ball has energy, there’s an extra pep in our step.”
Senior Makenzie Hendrickson led the way with 17 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Sydney Cavanaugh also added 17 points. Senior Kimberly Dull chipped in eight points and freshman Julia Rizzo netted seven for St. Peter’s.
Galion junior Gabby Kaple led everyone with 24 points, while Kesley Hoffman scored 7 and freshman Myckenzie Debord posted six points.
St. Peter’s dominated the glass, particularly in the second half. Galion outrebounded the Spartans 16-12 in the first two periods, but the tables turned after intermission. Perdas’ squad outrebounded the Tigers 27-13 in the final two quarters, for a 39-29 margin on the glass in the game.
“We’ve had box-out issues,” Perdas chuckled after the game. “We emphasized it in practice this week.”
