Crusaders get win to start new year

NEW LONDON — The connection between Holy Trinity seniors Teagan Snaadt and Anna Bendlage gave the Crusaders the spark they needed in the second half of Friday’s 51-27 win over New London.
Snaadt had 15 points and Bendlage had 12 as the Crusaders (8-0 overall, 6-0 SEI Superconference South Division) kept their spot at the top of the division with Mediapolis heading into Tuesday’s matchup between the two teams in Mediapolis.
“I think just because we've played so long together, we just know we can rely on each other on the court,” Bendlage said. “We just find each other at the key times.”
“We've played together for a long time, we’re best friends off the court, so it's easy to have a connection on the court,” Snaadt said.
The two combined for 14 second-half points as the Crusaders pulled away from the Tigers (0-9, 0-5) after leading just 20-10 at halftime.
Holy Trinity was playing for the first time in two weeks because of the Christmas break, and at times, especially in the first half, it showed.
“I was hoping we would have a little more pop, especially in the first half,” coach Shawn Hopper said. “But I watched a lot of video on New London, and I thought they played better than some of their scores indicated. I don’t like giving up 27 points to them, but it was the first time all season we scored more than 50 points, so that was a good sign.”

“I think we just really started to run the plays and found more openings on the court,” Bendlage said. “I think we really ran our offense and kind of let things happen.”
“I think the first half was just getting into it again after coming off break,” Snaadt said. “You know, it's hard when you get two weeks off. It's hard to get back in there and get the feel for the game, but we really got the rhythm in the second half, and we started moving our offense and we started getting open looks.”
New London was within 28-19 with 4:37 left in the third quarter before the Crusaders closed the quarter with a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back layups from Snaadt off passes from Bendlage.
Olivia Bendlage and Elizabeth Griffin each had nine points for the Crusaders.
“You get a win right out of the gate to start the second half of the season,” Hopper said. “I would have liked if we would have been a little sharper in the first half of the game. But all in all, I’m happy to get the win with what’s coming up for us.”
The Crusaders get Mediapolis on Tuesday, play at Central Lee on Friday, then have a rescheduled game with Winfield-Mount Union on Saturday.
“It’s nice to get a game before all of that,” Hopper said. “Now we have some time to get ready for Mediapolis and everything else that’s coming up.”