By Dana Ehrmann
Sports Correspondent
For the girls Catholic Central basketball team this past week, the first and second halves of games were like night and day.
In the first halves, the Lady Toppers put themselves at a great disadvantage.
In the second halves, they came roaring back. But was it enough?
On Saturday, Feb. 4 against St. Thomas More, it was.
Despite trailing by five points at the half, Catholic Central exploded for 42 points in the second.
That solidified the victory with a final score of 62-54.
Everyone got in on the action that night.
Sophomore Elizabeth Klein broke out for 20 points and five steals.
Sophomore Miriam Ward had her best game of the season, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
While junior Mikelle Miles added 10 points and eight rebounds, senior Bridget Bittmann had 10 points and four rebounds.
Additionally, Head Coach Jerod Boyd said that sophomore Emma Klein had two steals that greatly affected the outcome of the game.
“We forced 30 turnovers and scored 42 points in the second half. Our press made it possible to regain the lead late, and we didn’t look back,” said the coach.
On Thursday, Feb. 2 against The Prairie School, however, a better second half did not secure the victory.
The Lady Toppers could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.
“We went through two four-minute scoring droughts which were difficult to overcome,” Boyd said.
“We had a tied game with under a minute left, but couldn’t make big shots down the stretch.”
It didn’t help that Catholic Central was without Bridget Bittmann and freshman Katie Goethal, either.
In their absence, Mikelle Miles dropped 13 points on the Lady Hawks.
Elizabeth Klein contributed 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
Meanwhile, Miriam Ward scored nine, with 10 rebounds and five steals.
Looking ahead, Coach Boyd wants to continue to rebound well, while cutting down on the scoring droughts.