Menu
Stifling D: St. Pius X ends Lady Tigers win streak
Nevada Daily Mail
The Nevada Lady Tigers saw their nine-game winning streak come to a screeching halt Friday night at Wynn Gym, as the St. Pius X Lady Warriors clamped down defensively en route to earning a 46-31 victory.
This is the second time the two squads have met this season, with Nevada suffering a 45-30 season-opening loss, Nov. 25 in Kansas City.
With this loss, the Lady Tigers drop to 11-3, while St. Pius X improves to 11-2 overall. In addition, the Lady Warriors are now 6-0 in West Central Conference play, while Nevada falls to 4-2 in the WCC.
"We had one bad quarter," Nevada head coach Brent Bartlett said. "Other than that it was pretty much even."
Nevada looked sharp early, going on top 11-6, after Morgan McNeley drilled a trey from the top of the key. However, the Lady Warriors ended the first quarter on a 7-1 run, taking a 13-12 lead.
A close game through one quarter, was thoroughly broken open in the second quarter, as St. Pius X turned things up a notch on the defensive end.
Utilizing a physical man-to-man defense, the Lady Warriors were able to completely lock down Nevada's perimeter players, as McNeley's first quarter 3-pointer was the only one the Lady Tigers would hit all night.
Nevada also struggled to attack the basket from the perimeter, as Lady Warriors center Abby Hipp was a defensive force in the post. In addition, St. Pius X's full court press wreaked havoc on Nevada as they attempted to bring the ball upcourt, resulting in a number of costly turnovers.
With 4:38 to play in the second quarter, guard Allison Malott led a 2-on-1 fast break, dishing off to Hipp at the rim for an easy lay-in, putting St. Pius X up 21-12.
Later in the second quarter, Hipp again scored from underneath, capping a 25-1 run, handing the Lady Warriors a 31-12 advantage. When the dust settled, the visitors had outscored Nevada 18-2 in the second frame.
Nevada trailed 31-14 at halftime.
"We just got out-toughed in the first half," Bartlett said.
The Lady Tigers began to gradually claw their way back into the game, kicking off the third quarter with a 6-0 run, capped by a McNeley 12-foot pull-up jumper, slicing the St. Pius X lead to 31-20 with 2:07 showing on the third quarter clock.
Nevada held the Lady Warriors without a point for the first six-plus minutes of the third quarter. However, as the quarter neared an end, St. Pius X went on a quick 4-0 blitz, as Natalie Denzer turned a back court steal into a layup at the other end of the floor, putting the visitors up 35-20.
"I thought in the second half that we gritted our teeth and played a lot tougher," Bartlett said. "Our defense really stepped up. We started doing some trapping and caught them off-guard a little bit."
With 5:14 remaining in regulation, Rilie Good's offensive rebound and short jumper, drew Nevada to within 10 points at 37-27.
During the fourth quarter, Nevada had several opportunities to get the deficit back under double-digits, but failed to capitalize.
From that point, the Lady Warriors spent the rest of the night salting the game away from the free throw line, for the final 15 point outcome.
For Nevada, McNeley scored a team-high 10 points, while forward Megan Payne added eight. Good scored six, while Mikayla Bartlett finished the evening with four. Rounding out the scoring, Chloe Bartlett chipped in with three.
The bulk of the Lady Warriors offense came from two players, Denzler with 14, and Hipp who finished with 13.
During his post game radio interview, Bartlett detailed why he thought the Lady Warriors defense was so effective.
"That in-the-face type of defense is designed to wear you out," he said. "They were rotating nine girls in and out, with that type of quickness. That puts an awful lot of pressure on Mikayla and Morgan trying to break the press.
"When you're turning the ball over like we did in the second quarter, you're not going to score many points."
Next up
The Lady Tigers resume action Jan. 26, participating in the Clinton Invitational, which runs through Jan. 31. Nevada's opening-day opponent has yet to be announced.
"There are some good teams in that tournament, so we're excited to be playing down there. We'll be ready to go," he said.
Junior varsity
Nevada's junior varsity team opened the night by knocking off St. Pius X 34-24. Renee Cox led the way for Nevada with a game-high 15 points, while Megan Hold added 10, as they improve to 9-4.