There wasn’t anything at all about the first three quarters that suggested the difference between Collegiate and St. Anne’s-Belfield girls’ basketball teams would be two possessions during the final minute of the game.
The Cougars enjoyed a healthy lead from the beginning of the first quarter and were up by as many as 21 points until the Saints stormed back in the fourth quarter. However, in the end, the hole that STAB dug itself into during the first 24 minutes of the game ultimately proved to be too deep, and Collegiate held on to pick up the 56-51 road victory.
“It got a little too close for comfort there,” said Collegiate coach Rive Fleming. “We have practiced holding a lead and it obviously showed.”
In the first half, the problem was simple for St. Anne’s — they could not stop fouling the Cougars, and the Cougars free-throw shooters made the most of their opportunities at the charity stripe to help put their team out in front by eight. Eight different Saints picked up a foul in the first quarter with two of STAB’s top players, Sarah Imovbioh and Addi Bolin finding themselves sitting next to coach Phil Stinnie for much of the first two frames, allowing the Cougars’ offense to flourish in the key.
“We were worried a bit because we were smaller,” Fleming said. “But the big thing was getting them into foul trouble early. That was huge to have Imovbioh in foul trouble for most of the first half. Having her on the bench is the best way to defend her because she’s pretty good.”
It wasn’t just that the Saints had foul trouble with Bolin or Imovbioh. Within the first eight minutes the Cougars were already in the bonus on a night in which they wound up shooting nearly 70 percent as a team.
“I don’t think we were playing with our heads,” Stinnie said. “They were playing with their emotions at that time. It was sort of those first game jitters and just getting into things.”
By the middle of the third quarter, the distance between Collegiate and STAB reached double-digits to set the table for a frenetic fourth quarter.
“We’re trying to use a style of game that’s going to be productive for everyone,” Stinnie said. “We didn’t use it or do that until the fourth quarter.”
With Imovbioh setting up in the post, the St. Anne’s offense began to get rolling, and once it started, the defense responded by forcing turnovers. With four minutes left, the Cougars lead was down to 10. With just under a minute to play, the deficit was just four points and the Saints would get as close to three points with 15 seconds remaining, before Collegiate hit a lay-up in the final moments to wrap up the victory.
“I thought (our point guard) Ally Koonce did a really good job of calming us down out on the court,” Fleming said. “It would have been easy to panic. We just needed to make one basket.”
And for Stinnie, while it’s a loss, it’s not a deadly start.
“We have something we can build on,” Stinnie said. “If we play the rest of the season like we did the fourth quarter we’ll be in great shape.”
Imovbioh finished with 17 points while also collecting 10 rebounds to lead STAB in both categories. Teammate Sarah Tolliver chipped in a pair of 3-pointers and finished with nine points, while Lexi Peck and Bolin contributed eight and seven points respectively.
For Collegiate (1-0), Koonce had 20 points fueled behind her 10 of 12 free throw shooting. Forward Caroline Thomas finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
St. Anne’s (0-1) will travel to Bishop O’Connell on Friday at 3 p.m.
