Defense set the tone early last Thursday, and once it did, St. Vincent was off and running.
The host Lady Indians forced turnovers, controlled the boards and turned nearly every stop into a scoring opportunity on the other end, rolling past Jefferson 87-30 on Jan. 29 in a Senior Night game that was decided well before halftime.
St. Vincent jumped on Jefferson from the opening tip, scoring 26 points in the first quarter and never allowing the visitors to find any kind of rhythm. By halftime, the Lady Indians had built a commanding 55- 10 lead, fueled by relentless defense and a steady stream of fast-break layups.
“We just came out and played really good defense,” said St. Vincent coach Mel Kirn. “We out-manned them, we out-rebounded them, and that led to a lot of fast breaks. Everything we did started with defense and rebounding.”
That defensive pressure translated directly into points. St. Vincent finished the night shooting 55.9 percent from the field, including 68.4 percent on two-point attempts. Many of those baskets came in transition, as the Lady Indians repeatedly pushed the ball up the floor following rebounds and steals.
The scoring pace never slowed. After a 29-point second quarter, St. Vincent added another 27 points in the third to push the margin to 82-25 heading into the final period.
With the running clock in effect in the fourth quarter, Kirn used the opportunity to get extended minutes for his reserves and younger players. Even then, the focus remained on execution.
“I told them if we had a breakaway, take it,” Kirn said. “If not, we were going to slow it down and run our offense. The clock was already going to speed the game up, so we wanted to stay under control and keep doing what we do.”
One of the night’s biggest positives came from the team’s depth. All of St. Vincent’s starters scored, and several players who will be key contributors in future seasons saw significant action in the fourth quarter — and made the most of it.
“That was pretty awesome,” Kirn said. “Everybody got in, and everybody scored. That’s a good sign for us moving forward.”
Senior Brie Rubel led the way for the Lady Indians, putting up 20 points — including 4 three-pointers — and pulled in 7 rebounds and made 7 assists.
Senior Lana Adams had 15 points and 6 rebounds, senior Rylee Robinson had 12 points, and senior Kate Rubel finished with 10 points and 4 assists.
As a team, St. Vincent also dominated the rebounding battle, finished with 21 assists and forced Jefferson into 24 turnovers, turning many of those into easy points.
The Lady Indians scored consistently inside, outscoring Jefferson 50-14 in the lane and capitalizing on second- chance opportunities.
The game was played in front of a packed house, as the JV and varsity girls' games were followed by the boys' varsity matchup later in the evening, creating an energetic atmosphere throughout the night.
For Kirn, the performance was about more than the final score.
“It was just a good night all around,” he said. “We played defense, shared the ball and did a lot of things the right way. When we play like that, we’re a tough team to beat.”
