STEVE GOLDMAN
A strong night from Nicole Gallo, along with a strategy which is unorthodox for the SS. John and Paul girls, helped them to a 53-38 victory at Beachwood on Monday night.
In the first quarter, Bison junior point guard Maya Eddie sat down with her third foul. Heralds coach Nick Iarocci used that as an opportunity to make a key change in strategy.
“As soon as (Eddie) came out, we put the press on,” he said. “That worked really well.
“Even when she came back in the second half, we continued to press and it worked really well (through) the end of the game.”
Altogether, the Heralds forced 32 turnovers, 18 via theft.
Gallo scored a career-high 20 points to lead everyone on the floor. Ashley Fedler added nine points and seven rebounds, and Kristina Gallo chipped in with eight points.
The Heralds (4-15) converted 18 of their 29 free throws. They also shot 31 percent from the floor, whereas they have normally made 22-23 percent of their shots.
“We attacked the basket very well,” Iarocci said. “We attacked off the dribble as much as we could, and the girls were looking for each other.”
Eddie led Beachwood (2-15) with 16 points.
SJP trailed 8-5 at the end of the first quarter, but the press helped to trigger a 16-6 advantage in the second period, giving it a 21-14 halftime lead. With Nicole Gallo pouring in 12, the Heralds had a 20-point fourth period after leading 33-24.
“We’re not normally a pressing team because that’s not our M.O.,” Iarocci said. “But we went into the game knowing that we were going to do whatever we needed to do to win.”
Sara Blank had five steals for SJP before fouling out.
“She stepped up real big for us too, on the front part of the press,” Iarocci said.
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
