Tigresses hold off Lady Devil rally
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| Hall’s Ellen Herrmann (left) and Val Hoffert put the pinch on PHS’ Abby Jaques Monday at Prouty Gym. (BCR photo/Mike Vaughn) |
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PRINCETON — A strong second quarter and late defense helped the Princeton Tigresses pull out a 47-43 victory over the Hall Lady Red Devils Monday at Prouty Gymnasium.
The Tigresses outscored the Lady Devils 16-9 in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead into the half at 27-13. Junior center Zoe Mead scored eight of her game-high 20 points in the second quarter.
“Zoe’s got tremendous potential,” said Princeton coach Kevin Hieronymus. “We got big things from her tonight, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best from her yet this season.”
To begin the third quarter, the Tigresses (3-9) went on an 8-2 run to take a 20-point lead, which turned out to be the biggest of the game. After a Hall time-out, the Lady Devils (3-10) went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to nine points. At the end of the third quarter, the Tigresses led 37-26.
After trading baskets multiple times down the floor, the Lady Devils went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to only three points. After Princeton took a five-point lead, Hall senior guard Jacquie Wallaert drained a three-pointer to cut the lead to only two at 45-43.
Princeton then forced a couple turnovers late and made free throws to pull out the victory by a final score of 47-43.
“The key for us was that we never game up the lead,” Hieronymus said.
“I thought we played hard,” said Hall coach Mike Struna. “We just had trouble shooting the ball. When we make shots, it gives us the opportunity to pressure them but just didn’t have that chance tonight.”
In the first half alone, the two teams combined for 30 turnovers but the second half proved to be better by combining for only 19 turnovers.
“I thought 11 turnovers for us was pretty good,” said Struna. “Fewer turnovers definitely helped us out in the second half.”
Along with Mead’s 20 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, Princeton was led by senior forward Makenzey Wilson with 10 points and sophomore guard Abby Jaques who had nine. Senior Emmalee Sears grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds along with scoring five points.
The Lady Red Devils were led by Jacquie Wallaert, who scored a team-high 11 points and juniors Vanessa Olivares and Becca Herrmann who each had nine points
Along with a combined 49 turnovers, the two teams also combined to shoot just 19-48 from the free-throw line.
• The Tigresses won the sophomore game by a score of 52-32. Jaques had 17 points and Taylor Clark had 13.
