The 10:30 am start didn’t seem to bother Tricia Liston’s shooting touch in Fenwick’s 70-58 victory over visiting Washington on Saturday. Liston finished with a game-high 27 points including five 3 -point field goals. She was not alone. Sophomore Katlyn Payne scored consistently throughout the contest, totaling at least three points in each quarter. The forward finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Though the Friars (25-5) cruised to another easy victory, they seemed to struggle taking care of the ball against Washington’s press. A few early turnovers on the press break kept the Minutewomen within striking distance at the half. The score at the break was 35-26.
“All last week we worked on a press break,” Liston said. “We weren’t really expecting their press today. It caught us off guard.”
When Fenwick finally settled down, they converted easy baskets out of their press break with Serafina Nuzzo hooking up with Lauren Gula or Payne for layups on the other end. Nuzzo’s scrappy defense in the third quarter sparked a Friars run that ultimately led to the final margin. She deflected and stole several passes in the third period when Fenwick outscored its opponent 17-7.
Payne and Gula controlled the boards throughout the game. Gula finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Fenwick head coach Dave Power was pleased with his team’s effort.
“I’m very pleased,” Power said. “We got a lot of kids in. I liked our scoring. We put up good shots offensively.”
A late surge by Washington’s Centrese McGee kept things interesting in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with 27 points, 20 of which came in the final period. She hit a three and had a putback in succession to cut the lead to 11 at 54-43 with 5:40 left, but Payne was a load down low. Her five fourth-quarter points, including 4-of-4 from the free throw line, lifted Fenwick to the victory.
The combination of Liston’s shooting early and Payne’s dominance inside late was too much for Washington (15-12) to handle.
“Thirty-seven is my high game,” Liston said with a self-deprecating smile. “Whatever the defense gives me, I’ll take.”
She did indeed capitalize on what the defense gave her. With the early morning start, when some of the Friars seemed to be just waking up, Liston was rolling with nine first-quarter points. She scored 14 of her team’s first 27 points and headed to the locker room with 16 points. The sophomore star was a picture of consistency, not forcing anything while knocking down big shots time and again.
Fenwick faces the winner of a play-in game on Monday between Proviso West and Glenbard North. They began their quest for another state title yesterday in their regional matchup.
“To make it downstate again, we have to play our best,” Liston said. “This was a team game. We haven’t started preparing for the playoffs yet. I’m sure we will start to prepare on Monday.”
The Friars captured their 14th consecutive East Suburban Catholic Conference title with a 70-41 win over Benet last Friday. Liston led the way in that game as well with a team-high 19 points. Her sister Clare chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Gula added 10 points and 10 boards.