ST. PAUL — Winning their fifth straight game, the St. Paul Indians girls throttled the Erie Red Devils, 57-28, in Three Rivers League action on Tuesday.
“I really thought we played a good, team game,” St. Paul head coach Danielle Cummings said. “Early in the year, we weren’t meshing well. Since Christmas break, we’re sharing the ball and believing in our teammates. We have kids playing that weren’t here last year. So we have some growing pains. But we’re hitting our stride at the perfect time.”
Erie first-year head coach Skylar Clevenger felt the Red Devils’ effort waxed and waned.
“We’ve got to learn to put a full game together,” Clevenger said. “We can’t just play hard for two or three quarters.”
Brittany Deegan led St. Paul with a dozen points.
“It’s been a tough season for her,” Cummings said. “She hadn’t played up to what she feels she should be. She’s taking good shots. So it’s encouraging for her to have a night like this. She’s building some confidence.”
Kaeleigh Daniels led the Red Devils with eight points.
“We definitely need her on the court,” Clevenger said. “She has to be out there. When she got in foul trouble, that affected us. And tonight, I don’t think she was as aggressive at getting to the rim as she normally is. We needed that tonight.”
Erie fell to 1-14 overall with the loss. “We have to work on our defense. We have to be solid throughout a game,” Clevenger said. “We’ve got to be more consistent. And I want us to be more of a scoring threat. Some nights we’re aggressive at the rim. Some nights we’re not. That’s hard on us.”
St. Paul improved to 8-6. “Our intensity is a lot deeper,” Cummings said. “Last year, we were a team that would wear you out defending you. We lost that earlier this season. But now we’ve got that back. We’re running an offense and their basketball IQ has grown tremendously. They’re believing in themselves.”
Up next
Erie faces Oswego on Friday.
“I know they’re young and pretty quick,” Clevenger said. “And they’re shooters. So we’ll have to work on defense by moving our feet.”
St. Paul played Central Heights on Thursday then faces Oswego on Tuesday.
“We have to stay healthy,” Cummings said. “You’ll always battle illness and people getting hurt. But people are stepping up. This time of the year, we have to grind it out, be mentally tough and physically smart.”
