Podkowa keeps up pace for Trinity

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:54AM

Nothing was falling for Trinity, so when Megan Podkowa got the ball on the right wing early in the second quarter of Wednesday's game with St. Ignatius, she hesitated for a couple of seconds before letting a three-pointer fly.

Podkowa's shot tickled the twine, broke an 8-8 tie and sent the host Blazers on their way to a 52-36 victory in GCAC Red action in River Forest.

"Even when I shot it I was like, ‘oh, gosh, did it go too far, should I have shot it?'" Podkowa said. "But it was a relief when it went in."

Despite playing with a head cold, Podkowa scored 14 points to go with 12 rebounds and five blocks. She was 2-for-3 from three-point range on a night when the rest of the Blazers were 0-for-20.

"I don't really know [why]," Podkowa said. "I guess I was just feeling it tonight. Everything else was going bad for me."

Things certainly weren't going well for Trinity (15-3, 4-1) in the first quarter. With St. Ignatius in a 2-3 zone, the hosts missed their first 10 three-point attempts and were 3-for-18 overall in the opening quarter.

But Podkowa's three ignited an 11-3 run, with Podkowa scoring seven points during that span. The Wolfpack (9-9, 3-2) fought back within 21-17 at halftime, but the Blazers finally broke down the zone in the third quarter thanks to drives by Taricka Linzy and Taylor Nazon.

Linzy had eight of her game-high 16 points in the period, while Nazon and Shannon McGinnis both scored four as Trinity opened up a 38-25 lead. Podkowa's second three-pointer gave the Blazers their largest cushion, 46-30, with 5:51 left in the fourth quarter.

"You know what Ignatius is like," Trinity coach Ed Stritzel said. "They're tough, they scrap and they were going to stay in that zone as long as they could. Even when we were up 16 they were still in it. Against the better teams we've got to be able to shoot the ball."

Certainly the Blazers, who finished 19 of 57 from the floor but 12 of 13 from the free-throw line, will need a better effort in their next outing against Hillcrest on Saturday.

"We've been working on our outside [game] a lot, but I think we might need to practice shooting a little more this week," Podkowa said. "Our shooting was definitely not our best tonight, so hopefully we can come out better next time."

McGinnis finished with nine points and nine rebounds and Nazon had six points and three steals for Trinity, which is hoping to get senior point guard Divinity Brown back soon from knee surgery.

Ali Lenti led St. Ignatius with eight points, including two three-pointers, while Kelly Nickele who had 11 rebounds, and Alison Jeffirs both added six points.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.