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Girls basketball: Noll can’t keep up with Wheeler
Updated: December 17, 2011 12:26AM
VALPARAISO — A little more than one month into the girls basketball season, the Bearcats are asserting themselves in the Greater South Shore Conference.
Wheeler grabbed its fourth conference victory with a 62-42 win at home over Bishop Noll (6-2, 3-2 GSSC).
“We’re one step closer to our goals in the conference after tonight and I’m real excited about that,” said Wheeler (5-3, 4-0 GSSC) coach Dustin Nelson. “Bishop Noll had been playing very well in and out of the conference; they’re moving in the right direction. For us to come in and win a game against them is very important.”
The game started with a frantic pace, as each team used their speed to race up and down the court in the opening quarter. After the first eight minutes, Wheeler held a slim 15-13 lead, thanks to nine first-quarter points by Christina Gandy.
“I think that both teams have the ability to play a transition style,” Bishop Noll coach Vanita Gary said. “It seemed like it was a matter of which team was going to slow down first.”
Bishop Noll was the team that slowed down in the second quarter, while Wheeler continued to roll. Much of the Bearcats’ success came from Sarah Becker, who scored nine of her team’s 15 points in the period.
“I think that was really a key component for us,” said Nelson. “She’s only 5-6, but she got some good looks down around the basket for us.”
Four different Bishop Noll players connected on 3-pointers in the third quarter, but Wheeler’s offense got enough baskets of its own to maintain a 43-35 lead to start the fourth quarter.
Then the Bearcats put the game away in the fourth quarter, thanks to a 15-2 run.
“In the third quarter, we had some girls that were hitting some big shots,” Gary said. “But it seemed like we just stopped shooting. I told the girls after the game, you have to keep that momentum when it’s going like that.”
Wheeler’s Nickole Finch scored 14 points in the second half to help close the game for the Bearcats, part of her 20-point night that led all scorers.
“I found a real good rhythm there in the fourth quarter, and my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball for some open baskets,” Finch said.
Milana Golich led the Warriors with 10 points.
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