With victories over Crawford and Hyannis the Alliance St. Agnes girl’s basketball moved to 5 and 1 on the season. The Crusaders traveled to Crawford on Thursday and downed the Rams 23 to 17. Then hosted Hyannis on Saturday and defeated the Longhorns 27 to 7. The Junior Varsity lost their lone game, falling in overtime to Crawford 12 to 10. With the loss the J.V. team now sees their record drop to 2 and 2 for the year. There was no Junior Varsity against Hyannis due to lack of players by the Longhorns.
In Crawford the Junior Varsity played first and struggled offensively in the opening half. The Crusaders failed to score in periods one and two but kept the game close with a strong defensive effort. At half Crawford led 4 to 0. Baskets by Alliance’s Peyton Baker plus 2 free throws by Dawsyn Higgins gave the Crusaders some early momentum in the third. Meanwhile it was the Alliance defense pitching a shut out in the period. Alliance led 6 to 4 heading to the final period. In the fourth hoops from Higgins and Amora Gonzalez increased the Alliance lead to 6 with two minutes remaining. However it was the Rams scoring the next 6 points to send the game into overtime knotted at 10. Crawford would score the only points in the extra three minutes to go on for the 12 to 10 win.
SA 0 0 6 4 0 10
CR 2 2 0 6 2 12
Higgins and Baker led the scoring for the Crusaders netting 4 points each while Gonzalez ended with 2.
St. Agnes also struggled in the opening half in the varsity matchup. The Crusaders would another basket by Higgins in the first period and the teams were tied at 2 after quarter one. A score from Crusader Maslin Breen would account for the only score in the second. At halftime the Rams were up on Alliance 6 to 4.
Alliance would alive offensively in the third. A third point play by Reese Armstrong and baskets by Hannah Benzel sliced the Crawford lead. Another score by Armstrong and Breen finished the period with 15 to 10. St. Agnes would then outscore the hosts 8 to 7 in the final quarter to on for the win. Four Armstrong points paced the Crusaders who also got hoops by Benzel and Breen. Final Alliance 23 Crawford 17
SA 2 2 11 8 23
CR 2 4 4 7 17
Leading SA in scoring was Armstrong who closed with 9 points. Adding 6 apiece were Benzel and Breen while Higgins scored 2.
St. Agnes then hosted Hyannis on Saturday. A quick offensive start and a strong defense were the keys to the Alliance win. The Crusaders made their first 3 shots and nabbed the early lead. Scoring for St. Agnes in the period were Benzel who netted 4 early points while adding 2 each were Armstrong, Breen, and Aubree Shrewsbury. After period one the Crusaders led 10 to 1. Six points by Armstrong in the second kept Alliance in the lead. Another bucket by Benzel helped SA take a 18 to 3 going to halftime.
Both teams would score 4 points each in the third. Peyton Baker scored all four points by Alliance in the quarter and heading to the final six minutes the Alliance lead was 22 to 7. Another hoop by Baker, a score from Higgins, and a free by Shrewsbury ended the game with the Crusaders winning 27 to 7.
HY 1 2 4 0 7
SA 10 8 4 5 27
Six Crusaders contributed in the scoring with Armstrong leading Alliance with 8 points. Baker and Benzel each had 6 points each while Shrewsbury had 3. Rounding out the scoring was Higgins and Breen who finished with 2 apiece.