Dec 14, 2006 By Jim Downey 3 min read

CONNELLSVILLE TWP. – Neither coach was completely pleased with the way Wednesday’s non-section game turned out, but Frazier’s Les Martini and Geibel Catholic’s Pat Klocek witnessed enough positives to make it worth the effort. The Lady Gators controlled the game from the outset, building a 23-8 lead after the first quarter, and continued to mount to pressure on their way to a 70-44 win over the Lady Commodores.

“It was real sloppy on both sides,” said Martini. “We had way too many turnovers and we have to make our foul shots.

“But, we start section play against Duquesne (tonight) and I knew Geibel pressed so that helped us out. A lot of the teams in the section press and I like Geibel’s man press. We wanted to see the pressure to get the girls ready.”

Geibel (3-2) set the tone early, opening the game with an 8-0 run before Frazier’s Rachele Sanschgrin hit a shot at 4:23. The Lady Gators kept up the defensive pressure all over court, finishing the final half of the first quarter on a 15-6 spurt.

While Geibel’s defense was paying dividends offensively, the foul count also was on the rise. The Lady Gators committed 14 fouls in the first half, including three each by Geibel’s big girls, Natalie Hozak and Sabrina Szabo.

“Our bench saves us,” praised Klocek. “When we get in foul trouble, we can put in Leah (Delmar), Nicole (Ardabell) and the other girls, and maintain our defensive pressure and our offensive flow.”

The Lady Gators pushed the lead to 19 points late in the first half after Ardabell scored from Mia White’s assist. Geibel closed the half with a 35-17 advantage.

Both offensives had difficulty finding a rhythm after that point with neither Frazier nor Geibel making any perceivable run in the second half.

“After we went up 25-8, there was no offensive flow for either team,” said Klocek.

The second half did manage to push several players into double figures.

Frazier’s Meghan Leary scored 13 of her team-high 19 points in the second half, while grabbing nine rebounds. Kristen Joseph tallied all eight of her points in the final 16 minutes.

White had a slow start with only five first-half points, including a lackluster 1-for-5 from the foul line, but heated things up with a couple 3-pointers in the second half to finish with a game-high 20 points. Sarah Erdely and Hozak, saddled with four fouls for most of the second half, both finished with 14 points.

Both teams left quite a few points at the foul line as the Lady Commodores (3-2) made only 6-of-17 attempts while Geibel hit half of its 28 attempts.

With Geibel hosting Waynesburg Central in a non-section game and Frazier in its section opener, tonight’s games will mark the third in four nights for both teams.

“We’re up and down. We’re a little sluggish, but give Geibel credit,” said Martini.

“The girls seem to be able to dig down deep inside themselves and make a play when we need one,” said Klocek. “Our press and man-to-man are getting better and better.”