ST. MONICA — Mariner forward Crystal Casey-Vogler couldn't contain her laughter in the third quarter when she realized she had mistakenly scored a pair of Mary Stars' 16 total points.
Even St. Monica's head coach, John Skinner, had himself a chuckle.
"It was one of those rare moments you just don't see and the kids were playing hard and obviously got caught up in the moment," Skinner said.
But when your lead is almost 50 points with 17 seconds left in the third quarter, you can afford a laugh or two.
St. Monica's girls' basketball team won convincingly against the Mary Star of the Sea Stars on Tuesday, lifting them to 2-1 in the Camino Real League.
The basket was eventually awarded to Mary Star player Devan Avalos, but the extra two points made no difference as the game was over long before Casey-Vogler's humorous blunder.
St. Monica jumped out to an early lead, scoring 11 straight points in the first 90 seconds of the first quarter. Their pressure defense only allowed two points to the Stars in the opening frame. The Mariners scored 32.
"When [coach Skinner] put us in this new press [defense] that we have done, it gives us energy and, from there on, it just clicked," senior guard/forward Briana Harris said. Harris only played 11 minutes, but had a line of 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Mariners' new defense allowed only five points in the entire first half, the least amount of points they have given up in a half this season.
Skinner attributed his team's win to an improved defense that was lacking in their loss against St. Paul last Thursday.
"It was a tough loss and we didn't play with the energy that we're accustomed to," he said. "So tonight, we were happy to come out and bring that energy."
Scoring was never a problem for St. Monica, as all of the girls on their roster played and put points on the board. The Mariners were led by senior center Melissa Maragnes with 14 points on 7/7 shooting and a career high 10 points from Casey-Vogler. Courtney Eppler and Jessica Manley of Mary Star scored six points apiece.
St. Monica will be looking for their second straight win Thursday when they face off against the Cantwell-Sacred Heart Cardinals. The Cardinals are undefeated in league play. Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m.
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