Fontbonne 48 Kearney 35
Enjoying a second half surge after breaking her nose earlier in the season, Meghan Glynn scored 17 points to lead the Bonnies to their second win over rival Kearney. In addition to being the game’s leading scorer once again, Glynn kept the Bonnies in the game with her rebounding and defense to take an all-important late season win over the Tigers.
Coming off of a big win over first place McClancy, the Tigers simply couldn’t keep up with the Bonnies, as Fontbonne outpaced the Tigers 15-9 in the second quarter to take a 27-16 lead at the half. Along with Glynn, both Katie Marquardt and Breanne McDonnell, with 10 points apiece, managed to keep the lead as Fontbonne continuously beat Kearney down court in transition while Erin Kennedy insured ball control with offensive rebounds.
Up by 11 points at the half, Fontbonne Coach Steve Oliver told his team, “Just give me 16 more points to win this game.” But in the third quarter, Kearney played tougher defense to limit Fontbonne to just eight points as the Bonnies stayed ahead, 33-24.
After being harnessed at 8-6 in the third quarter, the Bonnies exploded in the last period when Fontbonne went on a 15-11 run as Emily Lind made a mid court interception which she sent up to McDonnell for the score to put the Bonnies ahead 37-24 with 5:08 left.
Lind again found “the open man” as she found an unguarded Emily Manti under the basket for the lay-up to give the Bonnies a 43-31 lead with 3:33 left. Finally, Marquardt sent up the game’s “dagger shot” as she unleashed her last basket of the game, a long three-point shot to make the score 46-31 with two minutes left on the clock.
“You pulled this off by sticking to our game plan,” Coach Oliver told his team. “To beat Kearney at home is a really big win for us and this should put us in good position for second place.”