LANHAM - St. Mary's found problems everywhere in last night's game against Washington power St. John's. The Saints couldn't pass or find good shots because of the Cadets' quickness. St. Mary's rarely got rebounds, often turned the ball over and fell far behind very fast.
In short, it was a long night.
St. John's, ranked second by The Washington Post, took command with an early 16-point run and cruised to a 62-46 victory over No. 20 St. Mary's in the Holiday Hoops Classic championship game at Washington Bible College.
St. Mary's (8-3) had problems before the game began as it was missing starters Bridget Noon (flu) and Jaime Latta (family illness). Losing two good outside shooters hurt, but St. John's simply had too much for the Saints.
Using their superior quickness, the Cadets (7-2)often trapped the Saints, who rarely could find a good look and rushed shots when they did. St. Mary's often dribbled into traps and never found any offensive rhythm, turning the ball over 14 times in the first half to trail 33-13 at the break.
"They're a great team, and they caused us to turn the ball over too much," said St. Mary's coach Harry Dobson. "They put a lot of pressure on us defensively, and we just didn't handle the ball well."
Dobson wanted the Saints to drive to the basket more, but the St. John's pressure pushed them farther from the basket in the first half.
"Their pressure kind of hurt us at both ends," said St. Mary's guard Bri Gauthier. "We didn't move the ball very well."
Gauthier, Julie Gladchuk and Allison Buote scored 11 points apiece, and Mary Hammond added 10. Gauthier hit three more three-pointers to set a tournament record with 11 over the three-day event.
St. Mary's also couldn't match up with the much bigger Cadets inside. St. John's held a 38-18 edge in rebounds and kept forcing the Saints away from the basket and into turnover problems.
"When we use our quickness and cut off passing lanes, we do a good job of forcing other teams into turnovers," said St. John's coach Eddie Simpson.
Forward Marisa Coleman had a double double with team highs of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Chlea Turner added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and tournament Most Valuable Player Ashley Whisonant contributed seven points.
The problems started quickly for the Saints, who went scoreless for a stretch of 9:43 in the first half. By the time they broke the cold spell, St. John's had taken a 19-5 lead. The Cadets stretched the margin to 42-13 early in the third quarter.
No. 1 St. Frances 48, Westminster 39: The Panthers bounced back from Friday's tough semifinal loss to win the third-place game.
Maya Newman led St. Frances (8-2) with 14 points, and Angel McCoughtry added 13 and eight steals as the Panthers had to rebound from a very slow start. Westminster (5-2) jumped out to a big first-quarter lead before St. Frances outscored the Owls 24-5 in the second period for a 34-19 halftime advantage.
St. Frances pulled away for a 48-31 lead in the final minutes before the Owls scored the final eight points.
Ashli Krug led Westminster with 14 points, and Jen Walkling added 11.
Churchill 59, No. 11 Arundel 52: The Wildcats couldn't overcome some early offensive problems and were defeated in the fifth-place game.
Morgan Hatten scored 17 points and paced a balanced Churchill attack in which four players scored in double figures. Amanda Hernandez's game-high 23 points led Arundel (5-3), but the Wildcats scored just 20 first-half points as Churchill (6-2) took charge and eventually hung on.