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Berne’s hustle play seals Loyola win over St. Joseph
Loyola's Egan Berne gets free and takes the shot during their game against St. Joseph in Westchester January 3, 2013. | Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 8, 2013 4:36PM
WESTCHESTER — While the St. Joseph girls basketball team was running out of gas, Loyola senior guard Egan Berne found that extra gear to make a play.
With the Ramblers holding a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, Berne followed up her own miss, diving around a defender to knock the ball to sophomore forward Sarah Elston and Elston put in the layup.
The Ramblers pulled away from there, winning the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference contest by a score of 55-41.
“That’s Egan for you,” Loyola senior guard Anna Schueler said of the play that stretched the Ramblers’ lead to 48-37.
“She works so hard,” Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said of Berne. “She took two more charges today. And that play, that’s Egan.”
Schueler said the team prides itself on hustle plays like that, but those plays were absent in what Schoenecker called a “sluggish first half.”
“It was uncharacteristic for us,” he said.
It was the host Chargers who provided the intensity in the first half, playing inspired ball despite only dressing six girls due to injuries and disciplinary measures, according to coach Jim Maley.
“The girls played hard ... it was one of their best efforts of the season,” Maley said. “We just ran out of gas.”
Maley tried to conserve as much of his team’s energy as he could by using a full timeout midway through each of the first three quarters. It worked early as St. Joseph stormed back from a 20-10 deficit after one quarter to pull within two at halftime.
The Chargers turned that 26-24 deficit into a 33-32 lead midway through the third before Elston and Schueler started scoring for Loyola. The two helped the Ramblers go on a 12-0 run to close the third before Berne’s hustle play in the fourth sealed it.
Elston had 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocks while Schueler had 12 points. Junior guard Maggie Nick also had 12 points for the Ramblers, who improved to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in the GCAC Red.
St. Joseph fell to 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the GCAC. The Chargers were led by senior center Shaakera Jones and junior guard Kietta Saunders, who finished with 12 points apiece.
Pick up your local Pioneer Press newspaper on Jan. 10 to read more about the Loyola and St. Joseph girls basketball teams.
