Blue Valley North rallies past St. Teresa’s

Tuesday December 9, 2008 4:00 PM
Team (Record)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Pembroke Hill (10 - 13)	8	9	4	7	28
Blue Valley North (11 - 10)	18	8	16	12	54

It was halftime, and her team was trailing St. Teresa’s Academy by nine points. But Blue Valley North girls basketball coach Ann Fritz wasn’t about to panic.

After a first half in which the Mustangs struggled to hit some easy shots and trailed by as many as 12 points, Fritz figured some shots were bound to go down, eventually. So her message to her young team was simple — stay the course, and keep fighting.

And it appears they listened, as the Mustangs made some clutch shots down the stretch and rallied back for a 54-50 victory over the Stars in the semifinals of the Blue Springs-Blue Springs South Tournament on Thursday.

“I was proud that they battled back,” said Fritz, who only returns two players who gained significant minutes last season. “We looked pretty decent the second half.”

It was a stark contrast to the first half. Both teams started out shaky, as the Mustangs and Stars combined for 10 first-quarter turnovers. However, St. Teresa’s — which led 13-10 after the first quarter — used an 11-2 second quarter run to take a 24-12 lead. BV North eventually cut the score to 27-18 at the break, but Fritz knew her team had not played its best.

However, that’s when the Mustangs started hitting some shots. BV North used a 10-4 run in cutting the deficit to two and eventually tied the game at 38-38 with a basket by sophomore Erin Boxberger early in the fourth quarter.

The game was back and forth from there, but Boxberger delivered again midway through the quarter with another basket that gave the Mustangs a 49-47 lead.

BV North would not trail again. While the Mustangs harassed St. Teresa’s into several bad offensive possessions, BV North senior Maria Uloko (14 points) added a basket and senior Robyn Hobson (15 points) hit three free throws down the stretch that iced the win for the Mustangs.

Senior Paige Kuhlmann led St. Teresa’s with 18 points, while senior Abby Duethman added 15 for the Stars.

With the victory, the Mustangs will take on Blue Springs — which beat Metro Academy in the semifinal game Thursday — in the championship game, which is scheduled to start at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at Blue Springs South.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2008-12-11 23:38:02

Comments - leave comment