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player ready...St. Joseph’s girls basketball team put defensive pressure on Westmont and never let up.
The Chargers’ relentless, suffocating full-court press was overwhelming as they beat the Sentinels 36-13 in the Class 2A St. Joseph Sectional on Thursday, Feb. 18.
“It’s all coming together for us,” St. Joseph coach Andrew Winston said. “Everything is clicking for us, and the energy they had was phenomenal.”
Sophomore guard Takyra Jackson and junior guard Davane Gross provided plenty of energy on defense for the Chargers (18-12). They hounded the Sentinels’ guards all over the court and combined for 12 of the Chargers’ 15 steals. The Chargers forced 33 turnovers and held the Sentinels to five field goals.
Jackson, a midseason call-up from the junior varsity, remembered being a little intimidated when she joined the varsity.
“It was scary and at first I started to doubt myself,” she said. “But the coach told me that I was up here for a reason.”
She validated her coach’s belief with smart, aggressive defense on the wing as she grabbed five steals and seven rebounds to go with her five points. All of that came in the first quarter as she helped the Chargers take an early lead.
Gross, standing at just 5-foot tall, was just as tenacious at the top of the key. She was constantly looking to knock the ball away from the Sentinels’ guards and send it back the other way. Three of her game-high seven steals came early in the fourth quarter. Gross and her teammates turned those steals into quick baskets and sparked an 11-0 run that extended a 23-11 lead and shut the door on a potential comeback.
“She is the engine for our team,” Winston said of Gross. “We rally behind her, and she gave us a phenomenal effort.”
Gross added: “We put a lot of pressure on them. The best defense is a good offense, and we worked on forcing them to make mistakes.”
The Chargers’ relentless defensive attack was also a disciplined one. They committed only nine fouls in the game and were able to keep their starters on the floor.
“Fouls have been our Achilles heel all season,” Winston said. “We’ve worked on staying out of foul trouble, and tonight we were able to do that.”
Points were hard to come by for the Chargers, who faced a tough half-court defense. Senior guard Elise Estelle led the Chargers with 11 points. Gross was one of three players with six points
Chris Vavra is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @ChrisVavra1