Lady Cavs take win over Wesley

SHANE EVANS STAFF WRITER SME722@CABRINI EDU

In a game with huge PAC implications, the Cabrini Lady Cavs came up big and pulled out a slim victory against a very tough and talented Wesley Wolverines squad.

“There’s always pressure in close games,” freshman guard and English and communication major Nikki Duggan said. “But I feel that we’ve been in many games this season where it was close and I think we’ve grown to feel pretty comfortable under that pressure.”

Comfortable is seemingly an understatement. Down seven points at the half to first-place Wesley, the Lady Cavs were not shaken and went on to outscore the Wolverines 37-27 in the second half to take the 49-46 victory

“The first half was a little shaky but our second half we really pulled it together and we were so much more confident with the ball,” said freshman guard and exercise science major Katelin Ryan. “We all played together as a team and that’s why we won.”

The game started off slowly with both teams combining for only 14 points over the first 10 minutes of play. The Lady Cavs also had the chance to capitalize on a rare foul differential that saw the Wolverines commit eight personals before Cabrini was even penalized. The teams went into the locker rooms with Wesley up 19-12.

As Ryan said, the second half was definitely a different story. A much faster paced game took place as the two teams battled back and forth for the lead.

Things also got a bit more physical as the Wolverines began to throw their weight around. Ryan took a nasty pick from Robin Smith, a senior Wesley forward that flared tempers and forced the injured Ryan out of the game, though only momentarily.

“I knew how important this win was to everyone,” said Ryan “Now that I am the point guard, I felt like it was my responsibility to keep everyone under control and the game in our hands. I had to be strong because I didn’t want to let my teammates down.”

With just under 12 minutes left in the second half, the teams leading scorer Duggan hit a three-pointer to bring the Cavaliers within one. From then on, it was a back-and-forth ballgame that was tied with less than five minutes remaining.

It was obvious that this game would come down to the final minutes as both teams continued to trade baskets in the game’s weaning moments. With Cabrini down, freshman forward Kate Fetterman swept to the basket, made a clutch lay-up and was fouled. The points put the Cavs in front and the victory within reach.

That big score, combined with excellent press defense in the final minute sealed the outcome in Cabrini’s favor.

“I was happy with how the game went,” said Duggan, who is the team’s leading scorer. “Coach told us at halftime that we had to be more aggressive when going to the basket so I just tried to drive more. I feel that everyone stepped it up in crunch time and we came away with a huge win.”

The ramifications for this game are almost as great as how the team played on Wednesday evening. The win moves the Lady Cavs to within a half game of Wesley for first place in the PAC South and improves their conference record to 9-3 and their overall record to 10-11.

It was an important game for the Lady Cavaliers to win, and with the combination of strong defense, affective scoring in the second half and a motivated team with nothing on their mind but winning, a “W” is exactly what they got.

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GAIL KATHERINE ZIEGLER ASST COPY EDITOR GKZ722@CABRINI EDU

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