Defense gets it done for Hounds

St. Michael's was in town for homecoming weekend to face off against Assumption on Saturday, January 23. Alumni from all over were in attendance. Assumption showed their sense of community by selling T-shirts and having a 50/50 raffle to help raise money for the relief effort in Haiti. The crowd packed in to Laska Gymnasium, with almost 200 people in attendance. The team eagerly awaited the start of the game, looking confident in warm-ups. St. Michael's always makes for an entertaining match-up, and this game was no different.The women's basketball team won the opening tip but struggled to get their offense going early on. They were getting open looks, but the shots just weren't going down for them. St. Mike's started off on a 10-0 run before Katy Howard finally put Assumption on the board. At the 12 minute mark, Assumption found themselves down 13-3, and Coach Phayre called a timeout. Phayre was not happy with her team, telling them to pick up the intensity on both sides of the ball, especially preaching defense. Her team responded positively by only giving up four points over the next six minutes. Their new-found defensive play was led by Kelly Meredith. Her hustle paid off, as she was all over the glass on offense and defense. Meredith was getting her hands on nearly every ball that came her way on defense.

Picking up the intensity on defense translated into instant offense for the Hounds. Molly Griffiths started to take over offensively towards the end of the first half, scoring nine of the final 14 points for the Hounds. However, St. Mike's responded when Alexis Keller drained a three as time expired. Keller was the one generating offensive for St. Mike's, scoring 12 points in the first half. Despite the late three, the Hounds finished the half on a 19-12 run and went to the locker room only down three.

The Hounds came out in the second half hitting on all cylinders. They scored on their first possession and kept up the defensive intensity by forcing a shot clock violation, followed by three straight turnovers for St. Mike's. The Hounds kept up their stellar play, going on an 11-2 run over the first five minutes of the half. Gabrielle Gibson, who picked up two quick fouls and was forced to sit out most of the first half, sparked the Hounds on offense and defense. She quickly made her presence felt by getting steals on defense, which led to easy transition points for the Hounds.

Griffiths rode the hot streak she got on at the end of the first half for the rest of the game. She scored 17 second half points, ending the game with an impressive 26 points and 11 rebounds. The rest of the team fed off of Griffiths' offensive energy, and all of their shots started to fall. They outscored St. Mike's 42-19 to end the game, much in thanks to their domination on the glass and limiting Keller to only four points in the second half. The Hounds dribbled out the clock, earning themselves a solid comeback victory on homecoming weekend.

It was a statement victory for the Hounds, who have been struggling as of late. Their record stands at 10-8, going 7-6 in conference games. Over winter break, the Hounds had a tough streak, going 2-6, with a couple tough overtime losses. This comeback victory could be a sign of great things to come for the young team, giving them the confidence they need to move forward.

The Hounds are currently in seventh place in the conference. However, with all nine upcoming games being against conference opponents, they have a great chance to move up in the standings. There is a long, tough road ahead for the Hounds, but they have impressive young players and strong leadership with their two captains. If they can play like they did in the second half on homecoming weekend, there can only be good things that lie ahead for this team.