LANHAM - The easy win that top-ranked St. Frances recorded in the first round of the Holiday Hoops Classic didn't surprise anyone, but No. 13 Arundel nearly pulled off a shocker yesterday at Washington Bible College.
Arundel trailed for much of its game with St. John's (D.C.), ranked No. 2 in the Washington Post's poll, but only a missed jumper at the buzzer by the Wildcats after they forced a turnover with 10 seconds left allowed St. John's to escape with a 59-58 victory.
St. John's win came after St. Frances didn't have much trouble scoring a 67-48 victory over Suitland (No. 15 in the Post 's poll). Unranked Westminster then surprised Churchill (No. 8 in the Post), 58-51.
St. Mary's, ranked 18th, defeated Patuxent, 46-38, in the last first-round game of the night.
St. Frances will meet St. John's in tonight's first semifinal at 6. Westminster will take on St. Mary's in the 8 p.m. semifinal.
Arundel (4-1) scored the game's first seven points, but fell behind in the second quarter when St. John's coach Eddie Simpson began using more of his starters. Simpson sat three of his starters in the first quarter after they missed a recent practice and said he rarely used all five starters at once.
The Cadets appeared in command throughout the middle portion of the game before Arundel began creeping back in the third quarter. The Wildcats cut the lead to 40-39 and twice went in front early in the final period.
But Chlea Turner's three-point shot gave St. John's (5-2) the lead for good at 55-52 with 3:14 left. Amanda Hernandez (17 points) later cut the lead to 59-58 with 32 seconds left before the Wildcats forced a turnover with 10 seconds remaining.
Alex McGuire (14 points) brought the ball upcourt and split a double-team, passing to Anastasia Baker, whose 15-foot jumper fell short at the buzzer.
"We wanted to win that game from the beginning," McGuire said. "We knew that we were a good team; now, maybe a lot of people will know."
The Wildcats had problems with St. John's defensive pressure early, but the Cadets weren't always able to maintain that pressure in the second half.
"We just didn't do a good job of continuing to hold the pressure," Simpson said. "I guess we got a little tired. That comes from [players] missing practice."
St. Frances (7-1) won its fourth straight game by using its trademark defensive pressure and speed. The Panthers had an eight-point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half.
Angel McCoughtry (20 points) had 12 points in the second quarter to carry the Panthers. Nija Bastfield scored 10 of her 14 in the third period as St. Frances pulled away to a 50-34 lead after three.
St. Frances coach Jerome Shelton emphasized speed in this game, trying to counter the quickness of Suitland (4-1) with a three- and four-guard lineup. That let the Panthers often control the tempo in the second half.
"We try to get in a Christmas tournament that challenges us and gets us ready for January and February," Shelton said. "We wanted to come here because we knew it would be a competitive situation."
Westminster (5-0) wound up being a lot more competitive than Churchill (3-2) might have expected. Emily Bollinger had an 18-point, 11-rebound effort as the Owls led for most of the game, holding off a late Churchill charge for the victory.
Jen Walkling added 12 points for Westminster, which also got a good game from guard Kerry Higgs (five points, six steals, four assists).
Westminster's greatest strength was its defensive pressure. The Owls pursued the Bulldogs all over the court, making them work for everything.
"We played good, straight-up defense," Westminster coach Dick Ebersole said. "It was good, on-ball defense."
St. Mary's (7-2) also showed plenty of strong defense in its win, often disrupting the offense of Patuxent offense and not letting the Panthers get many good shots. The Saints scored eight of the final 10 points of the first half for a 25-13 lead at the break and rolled from there.