John Carroll coach Mike Blizzard says matter of factly that his team's goal is to win the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference championship.
The Patriots certainly looked like they are capable of doing it Wednesday against host Bryn Mawr, jumping out to a 17-2 lead in the first seven minutes.
John Carroll rode that strong start to a 44-31 victory in a league game.
Junior forward Miranda Ripken scored a game-high 19 points for the winners. Teammate Yemaya Johnson, a freshman, contributed 10 points. Senior shooting guard Nancy Dunbar led Bryn Mawr with 16 points.
The Patriots led from start to finish and Bryn Mawr had trouble handling their press in the first quarter.
The Mawrtians committed eight turnovers, which helped John Carroll (8-3 overall, 3-0 league) build a 15-point lead.
Bryn Mawr (6-4, 2-3) scored the last four points of the first quarter and managed to cut the Patriots' lead to 23-17 by halftime.
That irked Blizzard.
"We need to get a killer instinct and understand to win a championship you have to play 32 minutes every night," the coach said. "Not get up on somebody and let off the gas pedal."
John Carroll picked up the tempo late in the third quarter, ending the period on a 10-0 run to take a 40-24 lead.
"We gave up a couple of easy baskets and that can open up a game that might be close," Bryn Mawr coach Mimi Walters said. "If you don't give up those transition baskets, maybe it stays six or eight points rather than ballooning up to 12 or 14. That's what happened. We had a couple of breakdowns."