December 15, 1998

Calvert zips past St. Mary's like they were going the other way

By Ed Fox
Sports Writer

A mismatch is anticipated when two teams headed in opposite directions collide.

And that's exactly what happened Monday night as the unbeaten Calvert girls dominated in every aspect of the game and easily handled winless Sandusky St. Mary's, 69-34.

Cashing in on early turnovers, the Senecas (4-0) broke out to a 14-2 lead at the outset. Their first six buckets were layups with four coming off SMCC turnovers.

Only a rebound bucket by junior Kristin Palmer, after Calvert had scored the first eight points, kept SMCC from being blanked in the early going.

''What can you say? Sandusky St. Mary's is down in their luck,'' Calvert coach Jim Kuhn said. ''They lack a lot of experience. They came out and executed and didn't fold up. I saw some spurts in our team and that's what you want to see. In a game like this, you just come out and run your offense, look for certain players to step up and give valuable minutes.''

All five starters scored for the Senecas in the opening period with senior guard Sara Riley leading the way with six points.

The Senecas, who host New Riegel in Midland Athletic League play Thursday, had a 21-5 lead at the break.

Another 8-0 run to start the second quarter helped the Senecas to a 29-5 lead before sophomore Katie Kelly got a three-point play the old-fashioned way for the first Panther points of the second period with 4:15 left before halftime.

The Senecas came right back with eight straight points as 6-2 senior Lisa Kuhn scored twice inside to lead the way and Calvert was able to take a 42-12 lead at intermission.

To show the dominance by Calvert in the first half, the Senecas were 14 of 30 from the floor and missed just two of 14 free throw opportunities. They also had a 21-12 edge on the boards and had just six turnovers to 12 for St. Mary's, which canned just five of 20 action shots and was two of seven at the stripe.

''I'll take it as a win, but I'm disappointed with some aspects,'' Kuhn said.''We mixed it up defensively. I wasn't going to press this team the whole court. We got to see some things off of the pressure. Point guard (Jodie) Luidhardt did a nice job. (Sara) Riley played well off the wing.

''(Kristen) Kaster and (Laura) Kuhn stepped it up and that's the confidence-builder we needed from those two sophomores. Lisa Kuhn didn't have her head in the game, but it's hard to stay focused in a game like this.''

The Senecas featured good balance with four of the five starters hitting double figures as Riley and Lisa Kuhn each scored 16 while Luidhardt had 15 and Laura Kuhn chipped in with 10.

''As a coach, you would like to see five in doubles but it's good to have four. We've got to execute better offensively and defensively, but the girls did a good job on the boards. This was just a good game for the morale of the whole team,'' Kuhn said.

Sophomores Bev Weyer and Kelly led the Panthers with seven points apiece.

''(Calvert) is a very good team,'' said SMCC first-year head coach Chuck Riesterer. ''I thought we would have to pack it in defensively against them. The problem is we didn't play well against their guards and they had all the time in the world to find an open player. Our guards just didn't put enough pressure on them.

''We just didn't handle pressure very well, but that's been our problem all season. We have a sophomore point guard and most of the girls don't have a lot of playing experience. They are big and physical and hurt us on the boards. Wedidn't box out very well and were intimidated from the beginning.''

Calvert finished 24 of 56 from the floor and added 19 of 27 from the foul line. The Panthers were just 12 of 53 from the field and 10 of 21 at the charity stripe. Calvert, with Lisa Kuhn hauling down 12, had a 42-32 rebounding edge. Palmer had 11 for the Panthers who committed 22 turnovers to just 17 for Calvert.