A stifling full-court press in the first half helped boost the Fenwick girls basketball team to a 58-42 pummeling of Providence on Saturday afternoon in Oak Park.
The Friars (20-2, 6-0), who are vying for their 16th-straight East Suburban Catholic Conference title, jumped out to an 18-9 lead in the first quarter. The quick start was capped off by a three-pointer in the corner by senior forward Tricia Liston, who had four steals in the first few minutes of action but snagged two fouls and had to sit with 2:32 left in the quarter.
With Liston out, the Celtics managed to cut the deficit to 21-17 by the end of the opening stanza. But Fenwick head coach Dave Power cued up the full-court press again in the second quarter and it was smooth sailing for the Friars from then on. With 2:38 left in the half, Liston hit another three-pointer to give her team a 36-23 advantage. The Duke-bound forward scored 14 points in the first half. Fenwick guard Alyssa Dengler tallied eight of her 10 points in the game in the first quarter. The Friars were without Kathleen Roche, who is nursing a shoulder injury. Roche is expected out for a couple of weeks, according to Power.
“The press is something we’ve been doing a lot more with this team because it helps establish a tempo for us,” said Power after the game. “We realize we’re going to give up some baskets on it, but it benefits our style of play.”
Fenwick held Providence to a mere basket in the third quarter, but the Friars only managed nine points of their own.
“I have to give Providence credit, they played us physical in the third, a clean physical,” said Power. “We lost some energy to start that second half, but our defense kept them in check.”
Liston, who scored a career-high 43 points against St. Joseph (Mo.) in the McDonald’s Shootout the week prior, finished with a game-high of 24 points. She scored eight in the fourth quarter, where the Friars led by as much as 20 points.
Along with Fenwick, Marian also remains undefeated in the conference. The Friars travel to St. Joseph today (Wednesday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m.) and host St. Viator on Friday (7 p.m.). They’ll also welcome Naperville Central as part of the Sweet 16 Tournament on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Fenwick will travel to Marian on Feb. 6 for a 2:30 p.m. game.