Mount de Sales scored its first points only nine seconds after grabbing its first rebound. The timing, however, proved to be a problem.
Nearly six minutes had gone by.
And St. Frances had already scored 10 points.
Kristi Webb scored the game's first six points and finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 4 St. Frances used tough defense and rebounding to produce a 60-46 victory over No. 15 Mount de Sales yesterday in a Catholic League game at St. Mark's gym in Catonsville.
St. Frances (5-1, 2-0) scored the first 10 points and 15 of the first 17.
Mount de Sales (3-2, 0-2) did not get a rebound until 2:10 remained in the first quarter, and Christy Buck (11 points) ended her team's string of 11 missed shots nine seconds later.
Mount de Sales fought back and cut the lead to four at one point in the second quarter, but the Panthers scored 12 of the half's final 16 for a 32-20 halftime lead. The Sailors never again came closer than eight.
"It's important for us to get off to a good start," said St. Frances coach Jerome Shelton. "It got everyone into the game early."
Mount de Sales coach Bill Held knew exactly what the quick 10-point deficit meant to his team.
"It was the death blow," he said.
Another painful blow came from the effort St. Frances gave on the boards. The Panthers dominated play inside and out-rebounded Mount de Sales, 41-24.
Webb got help on the boards from several places.
Melba Chambers, who finished with seven points, added nine rebounds. Jakia Ervin, who sparked the offense throughout the game, added eight rebounds. Kristi Webb's twin sister, Kortni, complemented her 12 points with seven rebounds.
"Our goal was to get more rebounds than [against No. 7 St Mary's on Wednesday] and play better defense," said Kristi Webb. "It all came together."
The St. Frances defense gave Mount de Sales fits. The Panthers showed several different looks as they pressed, trapped, played bTC zone and man-to-man at times during the game.
But one thing did remain constant -- the Sailors' lack of good shots.
St. Frances rarely let the Sailors find a shot from inside 15 feet. The Panthers clogged the paint, cut off passing lanes and often forced the Sailors to change their shots.
St. Frances, which plays No. 6 Howard today in the Fuel Fund Classic at UMBC, limited Mount de Sales to a 15-for-55 effort from the field (28 percent).
The Panthers kept Amy Buck, who came in averaging 17.8 points, to 11 points. Buck scored just five in the first half, and St. Frances blanked her in the first quarter.
Shelton said he liked the Panthers' rebounding and defense, especially because they created so many opportunities.
"If we can do that in this league, we're going to put people at a disadvantage," said Shelton.
Turnovers were the only negative for St. Frances. The Panthers turned it over 25 times, but Shelton was not terribly upset, saying it comes with the territory when a team runs a lot.
And the Panthers did run a lot. Despite the small floor (approximately 75 feet), St. Frances got out well on the break and created numerous scoring chances. Ervin made several slick passes while Chambers and the Webb sisters also helped the offense go.
Held agreed that his team's offense never really got going. But the Sailors hung in, even cutting the lead to eight in the fourth quarter. The early hole, however, was too much.
"I thought we played maybe as well as we can play," said Held. "I thought [the 10-0 deficit] just took us out of the game."