LAGRANGE PARK Nazareth jumped to an early lead Monday and thoroughly dominated Noble Golder in every facet of a 66-19 rout to open the 3A Nazareth girls basketball regional.
The explosion was especially gratifying for the Roadrunners (10-20) because for most of the season they have struggled to put points on the board. That was not the case against the Panthers (4-12), as Nazareth led 14-0 midway through the first quarter and 34-11 going into halftime.
“For us, it’s about being able to execute on offense and make plays,” Roadrunners coach Kim Connell said. “Going into tonight, we were averaging about 36 points a game. So scoring 66 for us is phenomenal.”
The Roadrunners’ main source of points — especially in the first half — came as a result of their full-court press defense. They had little trouble overpowering the Panthers and converting the turnovers into baskets.
“We feel like defense has always been our strength,” said junior guard Gianna Levato, who had seven points and five steals. “We don’t have to worry about that.”
The Roadrunners had 16 steals total from seven different players and forced at least a dozen more turnovers through errant passes and mental mistakes by the Panthers.
The Roadrunners were able to dictate the pace throughout the game. Even the players at the end of the bench contributed with 10 points in the final five minutes. Eleven different Roadrunners scored.
“It’s a real confidence booster,” said junior guard Molly McAuliffe, who had a late three-pointer. “Gives us a good feeling going into the next game.”
The Roadrunners were scheduled to take on St. Francis in a regional semifinal on Tuesday.
“You don’t know when we’re going to need some of these players to step up so it’s great that we had so many players score,” Connell said. “I was real proud of the team effort tonight.”
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Roadrunners senior guard Adeline Doyle led with 11 points and five steals. Freshman forward Bridget Lockie had nine points and junior guard Elaine Gralak contributed eight points off the bench.
Panthers junior guard Katara Jackson had 11 points and five rebounds.