The St. Anne’s-Belfield girls’ basketball team defeated Covenant Thursday night, rolling 87-35 past the Eagles.
STAB came out of the gate essentially in a full sprint with their usual fast-paced offense and full-court defense. Bri Tinsley rarely brought the ball up the court in the first quarter as the length of Mailynn Steppe and Sierra Smith kept the ball on their half for most of the quarter.
“We try to get out and use our speed and make the extra pass,” coach Phil Stinnie said. “We have a motto of ‘make our teammates better’ and if everyone is focused on making each other better then we are going to be okay.”
Tinsley poured in 27 points on the night for Saints while Steppe notched 22 points. Jayla Davis finished with 10 points and Sierra Smith chipped in eight for STAB.
Covenant used Emily Maupin’s height as their outlet in attempts to breaking the STAB press. However the Saints countered by triple teaming Maupin, leaving the young Covenant team to toss the ball from one end to another in hopes of finding an open shot. Shots were scarce for Covenant as STAB led 30-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Saints slowed to a jog in the second quarter as the defense slacked back to half court. Tinsley dropped 11 more points and the Eagles saw the foul line six more times. STAB committed 12 fouls in the first half, using their physicality to shut down Maupin in the paint. Maupin scored three points in the second quarter, all of which were from the free-throw line. By halftime the Saints extended their lead, 52-19.
The Eagles picked up their scoring in the third quarter behind three-pointers from Sara Meakem and Ella Dalton. However, midway through the third quarter Maupin hit the floor hard and came up clutching her back. Maupin returned to the game two minutes later in good condition but the injury scare limited her playing time for the rest of the game. At the close of the third quarter the score stood at 75-32.
Maupin and Meakem finished with 10 points apiece for Covenant and Ella Dalton rounded out the bulk of the Eagles’ scoring with eight points.
STAB continues its five-game stretch on the road against Saint Gertrude (3-9) on Friday night while Covenant travels to Chesapeake to face Atlantic Shores Christian (12-4).
