Elizabeth Schnell scored eight of her game-high 15 points in the third quarter to lead visiting Calvary Christian Academy to a 44-27 victory over Saint Andrew’s in the Class 3A regional quarterfinal girls basketball game on Thursday night.
Schnell, a junior guard, who entered the game averaging 16.8 points per game, keyed a second-quarter outburst where the Eagles went on a 12-0 run to close out the half with a 23-16 halftime lead.
Calvary Christian Academy (14-7) also held the Scots without a basket for 11 minutes between the second and third quarters to take a comfortable 40-18 lead into the final period.
Calvary Christian Academy will play Westminster Academy (15-4) on Tuesday in the regional semifinals. Westminster Academy, which lost in the regional final last season, drew a first-round bye.
The game was a rematch of last year’s regional quarter which Saint Andrew’s won 45-39.
“We only talked about this game,” said Calvary Christian Academy coach George Adams, whose team downed Saint Andrew’s 59-23 on Jan. 14. “We didn’t talk about Westminster Academy at all. Everything was predicated to this game. We were not looking past it.”
“At halftime, we talked about giving the extra effort and that defense was going to win the game,” Adams said. “We weren’t worried about our offense. We just wanted to put in the extra effort on defense.”
Saint Andrew’s had a 2-0 lead before the game even started as Sydney Rieland hit two technical free throws after Calvary Christian was assessed a uniform violation because three of their players weren’t wearing matching undershirts.
Rieland then hit a 3-pointer 12 seconds in to give the host Scots (4-10) a 5-0 lead. Calvary Christian tied the game at 5 on a short jumper from Samiyah Briggs and a 3-pointer from Jocelyn Gagnon.
Saint Andrew’s got baskets from Stephanie Theodossakos and Lilly Shaw to take a 9-5 lead. The Eagles then outscored Saint Andrew’s 9-2 to close out the first quarter for a 14-11 advantage.
The Scots’ Rieland hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and Theodossakos scored on a putback with 7:18 remaining in the first half for a 16-14 lead. They were the last points Saint Andrew’s would score in the half and began an 11-minute scoring drought.
The Eagles opened the second half on a 6-0 run before Saint Andrew’s Emily Husken finally got the Scots on the scoreboard in the third quarter with 4:40 remaining.
After the Scots’ Bret Marbach and Theodossakos opened the final quarter with baskets to cut the lead to 40-22, the Eagles went into a four-corner stall to slow the momentum. The Scots were able to get as close as 40-26 before the Eagles closed out the game.
Saint Andrew’s coach Victor Agapay was proud of his team’s effort, especially in the fourth quarter when they scored eight straight points to trim the lead to 40-26.
“We knew they were going to pressure and we knew their game plan,” Agapay said. “They didn’t change much from the time we played them before. It’s the game of basketball. You have to make baskets. We had a lot of good looks and we just didn’t make them.”
Rieland led the Scots with 10 points, all in the first half.
