Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

In a battle of unbeatens, St. Joseph coach Nick Miller said there was one underlying reason the Female Flyers lost 56-45 to Portsmouth Notre Dame on Wednesday.

The Lady Titans.

“I wasn’t happy we lost but I was happy with how we battled. We had a couple of baskets rim out, we had some foul trouble and we lost Amber (Neal) with an injury,” said Female Flyers’ coach Nick Miller.

“We had too many turnovers, but that wasn’t the reason we lost. They were the better team.”

St. Joseph (4-1) was hampered by 26 turnovers. After committing just two in the first quarter, the Female Flyers had 10 in the second quarter and 13 in the pivotal third quarter.

A layup by Hannah Miller gave St. Joseph a 10-9 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Amber Neal hit a 17-footer at the 1:20 mark and the Female Flyers led 15-13.

It was the Female Flyers last lead.

Jen Arzen made a layup to tie the game and she sank two foul shots with 29 seconds left that gave the Lady Titans the lead for good at 17-15.

St. Joseph began to turn the ball over in the second quarter and fell behind 23-15. The Female Flyers finally ended a nearly four-minute drought when Molly Miller made a baseline shot at the 3:23 mark.

Notre Dame led 31-23 before a layup by Lynsey Booker got St. Joseph within 31-25 at the break.

The 13 turnovers in the third quarter were in part due to Miller going to the sidelines early with four fouls and second-leading scorer Amber Neal suffered an injury and being forced to leave the game.

The Lady Titans took advantage of the two players’ absence as they outscored the Female Flyers 9-2 in the quarter.

Trailing 40-27, Hannah Miller returned to spark a comeback. She scored 9 points in the quarter but Arnzen was 4-of-4 from the line as the Lady Titans converted 9 of 11 free throws in the quarter to seal the win.

St. Joseph could get no closer than 54-45 with 15 seconds left on a trifecta by Hannah Miller.

“From early in the third quarter to the fourth quarter there wasn’t much experience on the floor. The kids kept the game within reach, but Notre Dame has a nice team and Arnzen is a good player,” said coach Miller.

Hannah Miller had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Female Flyers (4-1). Neal had 8 points, Molly Miller 6 points and 6 rebounds and Hannah Martin 8 rebounds.

Arnzen dominated for the Lady Titans as she scored 23 points and hauled down 18 rebounds. She was 14 of 14 from the foul line.

Brooke Pierron scored 17 points to go with 5 rebounds for Notre Dame (4-0).

Notre Dame 17 14 9 16 = 56

St. Joseph 1510 2 18 = 45

PORTSMOUTH NOTRE DAME (4-0): Katie Stevenson 2 0 0-1 4, Jen Arnzen 3 1 14-14 23, Raigan Sammons 1 0 0-0 2, Madi Phillips 2 0 0-2 4, Brooke Pierron 6 1 4-6 17, Kayliln Corns 0 0 0-0 0, Libby Welsh 1 0 0-0 2, Sammie Martin 1 0 0-0 2, Stacie Ramey 0 0 2-2 2. Totals: 17-63 20-25 56. 3-point goals: 2-10. Rebounds: 17-23=40 (Arnzen 18, Pierron 5, Stevenson 4). Team rebounds: 5. Assists: 8 (Stevenson 4). Steals: 8 (Welsh 3). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON ST. JOSEPH (4-1): Hannah Martin 1 0 0-0 2, Amber Neal 2 0 4-4 8, Hannah Miller 6 1 6-10 21, Molly Miller 1 0 4-7 6 Lynsey Booker 2 0 2-2 6, Katie Roach 1 0 0-2 2, Rachel Martin 0 0 0-0 0, Sarah Snowden 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-45 16-25 45. 3-point goals: 1-3. Rebounds: 14-28=42 (H. Miller 12, H. Martin 8, M. Miller 6, Booker 4). Team rebounds: 7. Assists: 6 (H. Miller 5). Steals: 3. Turnovers: 26. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: H. Martin (4th 2:31).