Stagg Gets a 'Peace' of Pride

The Stagg girls basketball team didn't know anything about Queen of Peace's style of play. Queen of Peace didn't know if its style would work.

The Pride implemented a run-and-gun, full-pressure system of play for the first time of the season. The style of play first gained national exposure in the late-1980s and early-1990s when Loyola Marymount advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament in 1990.

But Loyola Marymount had a big-time player in the late Hank Gathers, a score-from-anywhere force named Bo Kimble and a three-point threat in Jeff Fryer.

Queen of Peace had a roster of 12 players, all learning as they went on Saturday. Stagg (5-13) found itself constantly pressured throughout the game, but also had plenty of open looks and used it to its advantage, leading by as many as 22 points in the second half, before settling for a comfortable 73-57 victory.

The Chargers have gone 5-3 since starting the season 0-10.

"We did a nice job against the pressure and got a lot of easy baskets," Stagg coach Bill Turner said. "We've got a lot of real young girls on the team, and they did a nice job of getting to the basket and getting to the free throw line."

Stagg made 25-of-32 free throws.

"We jumped to an early lead and handled their press," Stagg junior Maggie Yandel said. "Coach said they had some shooters, so we made sure to get a hand in their face."

Queen of Peace (4-16) trailed 42-29 at halftime, and while it was able to score points in small bunches at times, it never really threatened the Chargers in the second half.

An Erica Buck field goal cut the deficit to 65-51 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Chargers answered with six straight points from Revi McMahon, Alexa Minkina and Alexandria Lizotte to make it 71-51 with only two minutes left.

"We're learning to play better with each other, which took a while," McMahon said. "They played a lot more fast than normal, but we adjusted and got used to it."

Queen of Peace coach Rick Federici was inspired to substitute five players at a time and play at the frantic pace after seeing his team struggle this season. It also affords his full roster plenty of opportunities for playing time.

"It's the first time we did it and practiced all week trying it," he said. "We played Galesburg last week and they put it in. I talked to the girls about it and we decided to try it."

Yandel and McMahon led the Chargers with 17 and 16 points. Bridget Adams chipped in with 12 points. Titiana Sawosko (9 points) and freshman Megan Hearne (8 points) also had big games in the scoring column for Stagg.

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