The Sacred Heart High girls didn’t bring their ‘A’ game against St. Paul on Monday night at Alumni Hall, and the result was the first loss of the season for the Hearts.
By KEVIN ROBERTS
“We’re better than this, we’re just really better,” Sacred Heart coach Ron Picard said after his team’s 48-34 defeat. “It’s just that the kids were out of sync.”
Aamya Rivera (game-high 17 points) got the Hearts off to a good start with back-to-back runners. Rivera broke a press and found Paige Carroll for a layup to make the score 8-6 St. Paul with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Sacred Heart didn’t score another point the rest of the quarter. The Hearts struggled some more in the second quarter, yet trailed by five points, 21-16, at the half.
“I told them our defense is not bad. It’s pretty good,” Picard said. “I’m surprised you’re down five, because we’re not playing good offense.”
Rivera pulled Sacred Heart to within a point, 26-25, on a drive and bucket with 2:56 left in the third quarter. That was as close as the Hearts got. Rivera was bothered by a left wrist issue, and Mobley left the game with 2:22 to play and didn’t return.
The Hearts trailed by five points after three quarters, then scored just five points in the fourth quarter. St. Paul’s defense was good, but Picard felt Sacred Heart contributed to its own malaise.
“We just couldn’t drop a shot,” Picard said.
Rivera and Carroll are the only seniors in the rotation for the Hearts. Mikayla Mobley, Emily Ronalter and Allene Daniels are the other starters. Mobley is a junior, but Ronalter and Daniels are just sophomores. Reserve Brooke Ferrare is a sophomore, and fellow reserve Shera Tripp is a junior. Sacred Heart is young, and it will make mistakes, but Monday was just one night.
“It’s a game, and we got to be ready for the next one,” Picard said.
Sacred Heart looks to bounce back from its first loss on Friday at home against Crosby at 7 p.m.