HTC girls keep rolling with win over MP

Snaadt stepping up

I knew in my head that we were just one play away from getting right back to where we were at. And I wasn't surprised when Teagan was one that made that play.”

Shawn Hopper, HTC girls head coach

FORT MADISON - The “storm” that Holy Trinity girls basketball coach Shawn Hopper had predicted was happening, but he knew who would make the play to get the Crusaders out of it.
Teagan Snaadt’s steal and layup in the final minute of the third quarter started the run that put Holy Trinity back in control of the game and back on the path to a 41-28 win over Mount Pleasant on Monday night at Shottenkirk Gym.
Elizabeth Griffin scored 16 points and Adalyn Kruse added 14 as the Crusaders moved to 4-0.
Holy Trinity led 24-13 at halftime, but was up only 26-22 when Snaadt came up with the play that started a 15-2 run that lasted until late in the fourth quarter.
“I knew in my head that we were just one play away from getting right back to where we were at,” Hopper said. “And I wasn't surprised when Teagan was one that made that play.”
“I kind of had a slow start, so I was just trying to make anything happen that could put us ahead and get us one step forward, so we could play a little more comfortably,” Snaadt said.
Mount Pleasant’s pressure defense rattled the Crusaders at the beginning of the second half and allowed the Panthers (1-3) to climb back into the game.
“We came out slow after halftime,” Snaadt said. “They sped us up with that defense and it really got us out of rhythm.”
“I think we've had a lead going into the second half every game,” Hopper said. “I always tell them the storm's coming, and one of these days we'll be ready for it, and one of these days it's going to bite us if we’re not ready.”
Hopper has a young team — Snaadt and Anna Bendlage are the only seniors, and the rest of his starting lineup consists of sophomores Griffin and Kruse and freshman Olivia Bendlage.
“You can do all the yelling and screaming and calling timeouts and drawing stuff up, but a lot of times you’ve just got to let them play through it,” Hopper said. “I thought we did a good job of playing through it, and then Teagan made that play.”
Griffin, coming off a 16-point game in last Friday’s win over Danville, duplicated that output in this game.
“She’s just matured overnight, and just seems to really understand the game,” Hopper said of Griffin, who played in just 12 varsity games last season. “And for someone that has never played travel ball, and she’s played about 14 quarters of varsity basketball in her career, it’s pretty impressive. The sky's the limit for her.”
“She’s doing great, coming off last year and not getting very many minutes, and now being a starter and being a huge part of our team,” Snaadt said. “She’s doing it all for us.”
Holy Trinity is off until Friday’s game at West Burlington.
“I'm looking forward to having three nights in a row of practice, right, because there's still a lot that we have to put in,” Hopper said. “But yeah, if you'd have told me a month ago this is where we would be, I would have taken it.”