Seton Catholic shows slew of talent in first game of the season
Seton Catholic marched on to a huge victory on Tuesday night in its opening game of the season against St. Mary’s with a final score of 74-23. From the very beginning of the game, the Sentinels showed why they are…
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Continue ReadingSeton Catholic marched on to a huge victory on Tuesday night in its opening game of the season against St. Mary’s with a final score of 74-23. From the very beginning of the game, the Sentinels showed why they are once again going to be among the top teams in the 4A division.
Coach Karen Self said before the season she was not exactly sure what to expect because they had no seniors on this year’s squad. However, her incredibly strong core of sophomores and juniors showed they have what it takes to lead this team to another successful season.
“Last year, the kids who were freshmen and sophomores had to really shoulder a lot of responsibility, and so they really learned our system really well,” Coach Self said.
Defensively, it was one of the strongest performances that you could possibly expect to see from a team in its first game of the season. They played aggressive, racking up turnover after turnover, making it difficult for the Knights to get to the basket.
A beautiful steal followed by a layup from @mcnabblexi to close out the half! Seton Catholic leads St. Mary’s 44-9. Hands down the Sentinels have the most aggressive defense I’ve seen so far! @PGHArizona pic.twitter.com/YLJNzfLeUR
— Brittany Bowyer (@LittWithBritt) December 4, 2019
“We really focus on defense,” Coach Self said. “Obviously there’s still room for improvement and things we can get better at, but I thought for the first game of the season, I was pretty pleased with our defense.”
Offensively, the Sentinels were red hot from all over the court. Not only did they have strong field goal and three-point shooting percentages, but they also did really well from the free throw line. Great ball handling skills, good passing and the teamwork helped the team further its success on the night.
The team’s outstanding performance was led by sophomore Lee Lee Willis. From the very start of the game, she showed that she was back and better than ever. Willis suffered from an injury during her freshman year and was forced to watch Seton Catholic’s playoff run and State Championship game from the bench.
“I just came ready. I prepared by just, all day, doing me. I’m in my zone all the time and I just come ready to play,” Willis said. “Honestly, I’m just ready to win state. It really hurt last year not being able to play, and this year I’m just coming, I’m just trying to being a leader and I’m trying to get my team to go to state.”
It’s clear that she worked harder than ever in the off season to recover from that injury in hopes of getting her team back to the playoffs for a chance to prove why she and the Sentinels are among the top.