Dialog reporter
MILLTOWN – St. Elizabeth rebounded from a sluggish first half to take control in the second half to defeat St. Mark’s, 44-35, in Catholic Conference girls basketball Thursday night. With the win, the Vikings swept the season series with the Spartans and improved to 9-2 on the season.
The Vikings trailed by six at the half, 19-13, but they turned the game around by scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter. They did so with a smothering defense that caused several turnovers, along with control of the glass on both ends.
Dymond Collins opened the second half by following her own miss. Alexis Lee scored on a putback, and Alanna Speaks followed with a steal and layup in transition as St. Elizabeth tied the game in quick fashion. Lee gave her team the lead for good with two free throws. Two minutes later, Julie McCarron hit a free throw, and Alexis Bromwell finished the run with two field goals – one a mid-range jumper, the other a layup after another steal.
Kendra Schweizer ended the streak with a field goal with 3:25 left in the quarter. She also drained a three-pointer to bring the Spartans to within 26-24 at the end of the third, accounting for all five of St. Mark’s points in the quarter.
Kara Dougherty hit one of two free throws at the start of the fourth to trim the deficit in half, but that was as close as St. Mark’s would get despite a valiant effort. St. Elizabeth put the game out of reach with an 11-1 run that featured a three-pointer from Speaks and an old-fashioned three-point play by McCarron.
Before the game, players from both teams escorted teachers on to the floor so they could be honored during Catholic Schools Week.
Speaks led the way for St. Elizabeth with 13 points, and McCarron joined her in double figures with 10. St. Elizabeth takes on Archmere Saturday at the St. E Center at 4:30 p.m. before its rematch with No. 1 Ursuline on Tuesday night.
The Spartans (4-10) were paced by Kayla Wolff’s 11 points. They will try to snap their five-game losing streak Saturday at Wilmington Christian. Tipoff is at 1:30 p.m.
