Lady Crusaders can't find intensity in loss at Danville

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BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP
PCC SPORTS

DANVILLE — Something was left behind at halftime, and Tony Johnson knew what was missing.
Danville pulled away from Holy Trinity’s girls basketball team in the second half, winning 64-45 on Tuesday night.
The loss left Johnson, the Crusaders’ coach, looking for answers, although he knew one of the reasons why his team faded in the second half after trailing just 23-20 at halftime.
“They came out and ramped up their intensity, and our intensity went down,” he said. “We have to match the other team’s intensity, and we’re not doing that right now.”
It was the first win of the season for the Bears (1-5), whose pressure defense bothered the Crusaders (2-5) all night.
Holy Trinity was down 27-24 with 6:45 left in the third quarter after a basket by Brooke Mueller inside. But Danville went on a 13-2 run, getting easy baskets inside. All but three of the Bears’ points came on layups or inside shots, and the remaining points came on free throws after fouls inside.
It left Johnson scrambling for lineup options.
“I’m trying to find five, six kids that will give me (maximum) effort,” Johnson said. “I didn’t like how my first group was playing. I was looking to see who could give us that effort. It’s my responsibility as a coach to clean that up, and we’ll start that tomorrow.”
Danville’s biggest lead was 64-36 before the Crusaders scored the final nine points, seven by freshman Mary Kate Bendlage.
Mueller led Holy Trinity with eight points. Raquel Schneider had seven. Kayla Box had six, and Kassi Randolph had five.
Drew Fox led Danville with 21 points. Ava Smith had 16.
Holy Trinity plays Central Lee on Friday and Mediapolis on Saturday.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do because we have a tough weekend ahead,” Johnson said.

basketball, crusaders, Danville, girls, holy trinity, Pen City Current, sports, varsity

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