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Eagles fly past Waterville

St. John-Endicott's Kristy Curtis blocks the shot of Waterville's Jacque Brown in State B game. (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)
Charley Norell Staff writer
St. John-Endicott's Kristy Curtis blocks the shot of Waterville's Jacque Brown in State B game. (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)

Many teams participating in the girls State B Basketball Tournament have recent experience at the state level to rely on when trying to pick up a win. This is not the case for St. John-Endicott, with its last appearance coming in 1997. But after two games at the 2006 tournament, it appears they don’t need it.

One day after a 55-39 win over Morton, whose last appearance came in 2004, the Eagles picked up a 51-40 win over 2003 participant Waterville at the Arena on Wednesday.

“We had the same game plan,” said SJ-E head coach Don Kemper. “We didn’t really do anything different, but they’re feeling real comfortable out there. I’m letting them call the plays, and at times let them mix up the defenses.”

Unlike its first game, SJ-E (20-6) started quickly, jumping to a 6-0 lead that would extend to a lead of 19-7 by the end of the first quarter. Sydney Gossard scored eight in the quarter and 14 of her game-high 18 in the first half, in which she shot 6 of 8 from the field.

“Today we came out with a stronger attitude,” said Gossard of her team’s quick start. “We’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a while, and I think we deserve it. We’ve worked hard for it, and it’s the last one, so we want to do everything we can.”

The Shockers (16-10) found foul trouble early on, with the Eagles in the bonus seconds into the second quarter. SJ-E took full advantage, going 12 of 15 from the free-throw line, including a perfect 4 of 4 from Ellen Miller. The 5-foot-9 forward would finish the game with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

“We just keep running the same plays that work,” Miller explained of the consistency that has netted her double-digit scoring in every game this season. “Other teams try to stop us and don’t, so my teammates see I’m open and get me the ball.”

Opening the second half down 30-20, Waterville continued to have trouble with the Eagle defense, ending the contest shooting 37 percent. For the second day in a row, Jacque Brown led the Shockers in points and rebounds with 11 and seven, respectively.

“It’s hard to explain, but they just have a real desire to play well together,” Kemper said.

SJ-E will meet Curlew in one of today’s semifinal contests, after the Cougars’ 53-36 win over Evergreen Lutheran.

Nichole Miller provided the Cougars (24-3) with some early offense, scoring all of her team-high 12 points in the first half. Teammate Amanda Grumbach scattered the stat line with eight points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.

Erika Laete recorded 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Eagles (22-4).

“Today’s game is the toughest as far as I’m concerned, because now we’re going home with some hardware” said Curlew head coach Dan Miller. “If we stay focused tomorrow, we’ll be going home with some special hardware.”