Fenwick girls basketball closes out regular season with loss to Marian Catholic

Cold start hurts Friars as they prep for playoffs

Sunday, February 12th, 2012 10:51 AM

Updated: Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 11:45 AM

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By Lauren Recchia

Contributing Reporter

It wasn't the type of ending to a regular season the Fenwick girls basketball team had hoped for on Saturday afternoon.

The Friars (20-9, 6-3) dropped their final regular season game against their East Suburban Catholic Conference rival Marian Catholic 62-48 at Fenwick. After making only four of their first 33 shots from the floor, the Friars fell to a nine-point deficit to end the first half. Their first field goal of the game didn't come until sophomore guard Jade Owens made a layup with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

"We had a lot of point-blank shots in the first half," said Fenwick head coach David Power. "We had a lot of wide open looks. We just couldn't knock anything down."

After the lack of offense in the first half, the Friars came out swinging in the third quarter; going on an 8-0 run to start the half thanks to baskets by senior center Meredith Boardman and senior guard Marek Burchett as well as Owens. Fenwick closed the gap and got within three with about five minutes to go in the third, but Marian Catholic sophomore Ashton Millender and junior Paula Zerante fueled an 8-0 run of their own to take an 11-point lead by the end of the frame.

"In the third quarter, we were right there," said Power. "Our girls battled. Boardman was a warrior. We made a nice run in the second half after a horrendous first half of shooting, but we spent so much energy to get back up to the top of the hill that at the end we just ran out of gas."

Boardman finished the afternoon with 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Friars. Owens (a team-high 16 points) and senior guard Paige Corvino (7 points) were also key contributors. For Marian Catholic, Millender led the way with 24 points, while senior Amber Williams notched 10.

"Owens had a tremendous effort," said Power. "Every time she came in, (Marian Catholic) tried to turn the notches up on the press. She's our press breaker."

The Friars found themselves having to form another comeback in the fourth quarter, but they fell just short despite a more consistent shooting game; including three-pointers from Corvino and Burchett. Power knew that the Spartans late third-quarter run put them in position to outlast his Friars for the remainder of the game.

"With a couple of minutes to go in the third, we were in perfect position, but we had a couple of turnovers that they converted for layups and they got a little cushion back that they needed to survive our last run."

Although the Friars fell to the Spartans in the regular season finale, Power said he is proud of the effort his Fenwick team put forth in this game and throughout the season.

"It was a great effort," he said. "In the end, (Marion Catholic) just has the depth and the athleticism."