By David J. Hill<br><a href="mailto:hilld@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail David</a>
TOWN OF TONAWANDA — For one quarter at least, Cardinal O’Hara’s quickness on defense neutralized Sacred Heart’s tremendous size advantage.
The speedy, tenacious Hawks converted a couple of steals into points to trail just 10-7 after the first quarter of Monday’s Monsignor Martin Athletic Association girls basketball game.
The next three quarters, though, were a major departure from that as the visiting Sharks chomped down on the Hawks for a 65-29 win to improve to 15-3 overall.
Sacred Heart is among the top-ranked large schools in Western New York, while Cardinal O’Hara (9-10 overall) is in second place in the Monsignor Martin small schools division.
“Their skill level’s a little better than ours, their size was obviously a lot more than we have, and they executed very well,” Hawks coach Dan McDermott said. “Our plan was to spread them out, keep their big people away from the basket. It worked for a while, but obviously we weren’t able to do it for the entire game,” he said.
The Sharks outscored Cardinal O’Hara 17-5 in the second quarter and 22-8 in the third to break the game wide open. Junior Sarah Pawlak led Sacred Heart with 15 points. Krissy Russo (13 points) and Tori Krantz (12) also reached double figures for the Sharks, who had a monster presence in the paint and shot well from the floor.
For the Hawks, Leah McDonell led the way with 14 points and Kayla Brown had 11, but they were two of only four scorers for O’Hara.
Sacred Heart coach Sister Maria Pares was impressed by the Hawks’ speedy guards. “I think O’Hara did a nice job, because they don’t have the height that we have,” Pares said.
“We weren’t playing any defense, we didn’t take away the middle,” Pares said of her team’s first-quarter play. “Do what you’re supposed to do and those things don’t happen.”
The Hawks are now entering a key part of the season. They’re off until Friday when they make the short trip down Delaware Avenue to face MMAA large school foe Mount St. Mary’s.
After that, Cardinal O’Hara will try to gain ground in its division with league games at Niagara Catholic and first-place St. Mary’s of Lancaster. They close out the regular season Feb. 24 with their senior night game against Buffalo Seminary.
“Hopefully we can learn from this. We’ve got some good games coming up to show us where we’re at,” McDermott said. “Hopefully we’re up to the challenge and we can finish where we want to finish.”
Contact reporter David J. Hill at 693-1000, ext. 115.
