February 19, 1999

St. Joseph makes 13 its lucky number

By Pat Magers
Sports Writer

NEW RIEGEL -- Steve Lucius doesn't seem to be the superstitious type, but one has to think the number 13 isn't among his current favorites.

His New Riegel girls put up 13 shots in the fourth quarter and all of them missed the mark as the Blue Jackets fell to Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic 48-39 Thursday night.

The Midland Athletic League battle served as a preview for the Division IV sectional tournament. St. Joe takes a 12-8 record into postseason while New Riegel stands 10-9. The two teams meet in the second game Tuesday at Old Fort.

Defense was the key for the Streaks in this one -- they outscored New Riegel 10-3 in the fourth period and blanked the Blue Jackets over the final 6:44.

Man-to-man coverage, with special concentration on first-team District 6 selection Renee Lafontaine proved effective for the Streaks.

''We knew going in that we would have to do a job on Renee,'' said St. Joe coach Gary Geller, who put the challenge to his senior daughter, Melissa. ''I thought Melissa did an excellent job. And when we did lose her, we had enough people step out and pick her up.

''We were in her face for everything she put up except one shot,'' he said. ''It was a 3-pointer and she drained it. We just kept preaching, 'You have to stick with her.' If you switch, whoever has her cannot leave her because she is a player who makes things happen.''

New Riegel trailed 39-36 before Lafontaine hit a pair of foul shots with 7:24 to play. Sara Nye added another foul shot at the 6:44 mark to tie it.

From there, it was all St. Joe beginning with a short jumper by Brea Busold off a pass from Kim Raubenolt with 6:35 to play. The two teams were scoreless for more than three minutes before Geller knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3:19 to play.

''I thought Melissa Geller played a heck of a game both defensively and offensively,'' Lucius said. ''She hit that big 3-pointer from the corner that really hurt. We were right on top of her, but she squared up and buried it.''

New Riegel was unable to answer on its next possession and St. Joe eventually sealed the win by hitting 4-of-6 from the line.

The Blue Jackets had the upper hand in the early going. Janelle Reed hit two foul shots, Lafontaine canned her 3-pointer and freshman Dawn Faeth scored a transition basket for a 7-0 advantage.

St. Joe countered with a 12-0 run, including a pair of 3-pointers by Geller, on the way to a 15-12 edge at the quarter break. The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied on five occasions before the Blue Jackets went cold down the stretch.

The New Riegel cause was further hampered when junior Leanne Wertz hurt her knee with 54 seconds left in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the contest.

''She seems to be walking on it better now,'' Lucius said after the game. ''We'll have to wait and see how it responds. That's all we need is another injury.''

New Riegel has played most of the year with Sabrina Reinhart, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Geller led the winners with 16 points, including three baskets from 3-point range. Busold had 12 points and Jamie Heberling had a pair of treys on the way to a 10-point night.

Lafontaine had 11, Reed eight and Wertz seven for the Blue Jackets.

Lucius said the idea of opening with the Streaks in the sectional tournamentoffers a different sort of challenge.

''It's a little strange to playing them again, because we know each other so well,'' Lucius said. ''It will come down to execution. We have to really fine tune our game and hone in on what we need to do.''

One thing to avoid is an 0-for-13 finish from the field.