By Bud Milroy
Sports correspondent
The Catholic Central High School girls’ basketball team bounced back from its worst loss of the season, defeating Martin Luther Saturday 56-34 at home.
The win evened CCHS’s record at 3-3 overall, and gave the Lady ’Toppers their first Midwest Classic Conference-South victory of the season.
“It was a great team effort,” said coach Jeff Behrens. All 11 of the players suited for the game saw action as Behrens shuttled players in and out throughout the contest.
That seemed to play a factor in the second half as CCHS broke open a tight contest.
Leading 24-21 at the half, CCHS toughened its defense to start the second half.
“We did a much better job defensively in the second half,” Behrens said. “We turned up the pressure in the second half and played defense without fouling.”
The defensive pressure led to transition opportunities for the Lady ’Toppers, as Kelly Gould hit two quick baskets and then got the ball to Erin Bittman for a score.
Martin Luther managed three free throws to cut the lead back to four, but that would be as close as the Spartans would get. CCHS closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run, with Allie Hocking driving the baseline for a score, Megan Wadsworth picking up a steal and then two points, Sophie Foote drawing a foul and splitting two free throws and Gould scoring again.
The Lady ’Toppers closed out the contest with a 19-8 margin in the fourth quarter. Foote scored six in the final quarter, and eight different Lady ’Toppers scored in the final stanza.
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