MADISON, N.J. – The Catholic women's basketball team looked to rebound after a close loss last time out with a weekend matchup against Drew, still holding on to the second spot in the conference standings. The Cardinals jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and despite the Rangers hanging around throughout the action, Catholic never trailed and went on to capture a 70-60 victory over Drew.
The Cardinals put together their best quarter offensively in the first, shooting 8-for-16 while making all six attempts from the charity stripe.
Anna Scoblick did the bulk of the damage, scoring 10 of Catholic's 23 points in the quarter while
Lauren Kraft also pitched in six points. The Cardinals opened the game up on a 15-4 run and wound up taking a 23-16 lead into the second quarter.
Catholic's offense struggled from the floor in the second quarter with just one field goal but were able to hold onto the lead as Drew shot just 33 percent from the field and turned the ball over six times. The Rangers cut the deficit down to one with 27 seconds left in the half, but
Raquel Guidetti sank a pair of free throws to close the half out with a 31-28 Catholic lead. The Cardinals converted on all 12 of their free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes of action.
A quick 6-0 spurt coming out of the halftime break with points from Scoblick,
Amelia Kennedy and
McKenna Karlson put the Cardinals back up by nine just two minutes into the third quarter. Catholic once again held Drew at bay offensively as Drew shot just 30 percent from the field in the quarter while also going 0-for-4 from deep. Karlson led the offense for Catholic in the quarter with nine points which helped it take a 49-41 lead into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Catholic immediately scored the first five points of the final quarter to take its largest lead of the day at 13. The Cardinals also continued to make good of their free throw attempts, going 9-for-10 at the line in the fourth. The closest the Rangers got the deficit was seven with 1:23 remaining, but Kennedy and Guidetti each helped ice the game by making their free throws in the final minute to give the Cardinals a 10-point victory, 70-60. Catholic improved its record to 17-6 on the season and they are now 14-2 against Landmark opponents. The Cardinals now have six consecutive wins against the Rangers and have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two programs.
Scoblick once again led the Cardinals in scoring with 20 points, her second consecutive game with 20 or more points which is the first time she has done so this season. She also led the team in rebounds and finished just one shy of her season high with eight. She currently sits in 14th on the program all-time scoring list and is just 10 points shy of moving into a tie for 13th.
Karlson was effective from the field, going 5-for-8 with 14 points while also making six free throws. Kennedy and Guidetti also finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. For Guidetti, it was her third double-digit scoring effort of the season. As a team, the Cardinals had their best free throw output of the season, going 27-for-30 (90 percent), all of which were season-highs. It is the most free throws made in a game by the program since the 2013-14 season when they made 30 in a win over Gwynedd Mercy.
The Cardinals begin the final week of the regular season on Wednesday, February 18 for a key matchup against Elizabethtown. Tipoff is set for 7 pm at Thompson Gymnasium.
