Girls Basketball
Defeats Benedictine Behind Strong Guard Play
The St. Patrick Girls Basketball team beat Benedictine
Academy on Monday afternoon in the Celticdome by a score of 72-48. The Celtics
were paced by a balanced backcourt effort. Freshman Jatirah Diggs led all scorers with a career high
24 points. Sophomores Jasmine
Rodgers and Quaneesa
Lanier filled the stat sheet with a double-double (Rodgers has
16 points and 10 rebounds, while Lanier had 15 points and 10 rebounds). Senior
Taneisha Pryor chipped in with 7
points, and Nicole Doyle dropped in 9 points. The girls play
their next game on Wednesday at 4pm at St. Vincent Academy in Newark.
Girls Varsity Basketball
Defeats
Mary Help of Christians 42-40
The St. Patrick Girls
Varsity basketball team defeated Mary Help of Christians of North Haledon in
league play yesterday by a score of 42-40.
The Celtics started off the game with a flurry of
outside shots, jumping out to a 10-2 lead. Mary Help of Christians fought back
to tie and eventually take the lead as St. Patrick's jumpers stopped falling.
Mary Help of Christians also dominated the boards at both ends of the floor in
the first half.
The Celtics played exceptionally well in the 3rd
quarter, forging a 33-29 lead behind the outside shooting of Jatirah
Diggs and Taneisha Pryor. They rebounded more
effectively as well and attacked the rim instead of settling for perimeter
shots. With the score tied at 40 and 1:32 left in the game, the Celtics forced
a turnover. On the next possession, freshman Jatirah Diggs brought the ball to
the left wing, crossed to the middle between her legs, then crossed over again
back to her left hand to split a trap. She hit a layup at the left block to
give the Celtics the winning basket. The last minute was wild and suspenseful,
as the Celtics forced a turnover, then turned it over themselves. With the ball
and a chance to tie, Mary Help of Christians went to the foul line for 2 shots.
She missed both, and Tajmirah Clark grabbed a critical
rebound. The ball was then stolen again from the Celtics, and Mary Help of
Christians had the ball with 7 seconds remaining under their basket. They
missed a five foot attempt, and Lashay Crawford ripped down the
game-sealing rebound with 2 seconds left in the game. She was fouled and the
game ended with the score as it was with 1:32 left, despite all the action in
the end. Jatirah Diggs finished the game with 12 points, and Taneisha Pryor
led all scorers with 15 points. Lashay Crawford and Nicole
Doyle both finished with 7 points. Sarah Smiley and
Brittany Burnett put in a solid defensive effort off the bench.
Tajmirah Clark pulled down 3 enormously important rebounds in the last 2 minutes
of the game.
