Front Royal, VA – The Lady Crusaders (21-5) defeated the Apprentice Builders (12-9) 76-53 in their Senior Day on Saturday, February 17, and honored senior captain Lili Speier for her excellent Christendom basketball career.
The Crusaders came out hot, grabbing a steal on their first defensive possession and then setting up Catherine Thomas (Junior/Corpus Christi, TX) for an open 3-pointer. Regina Bonvissuto (Junior/Kingston Springs, TN) and Mary Pennefather (Freshman/Manassas, VA) both hit 3-pointers soon afterwards, building on the Crusaders' early lead. Christendom played solid defense throughout the first quarter, limiting the Builders to 11 points in the period. Pennefather opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer for the Crusaders, and Christendom then stole the ball from the Builders and scored again with a midrange shot by Thomas. However, the Apprentice offense began to click, and they outscored the Crusaders 20-16 in the second period. The Crusaders went into halftime with a 5-point lead, up 36-31.
Christendom came out of halftime with a huge third quarter, in which they scored 26 points. The Crusaders capitalized on their first offensive possession of the half with a 3-pointer by Thomas, and on their next set Pennefather had a beautiful dish to Miranda Keller (Junior/Harrisburg, PA) for a layup. From there, the Crusaders kept rolling, scoring points in transition and in the halfcourt. They continued to play strong defense, holding the Builders to 10 points in the third quarter. The Crusaders went into the fourth quarter up 62-40 and maintained their lead throughout the period, ultimately winning 76-53.
Thomas led the Crusaders in scoring with 37 points and 12 rebounds. Keller notched a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Pennefather also had a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists. Liliana Speier (Senior/Phoenix, AZ) hit the boards hard for the Crusaders, pulling down an impressive 7 offensive rebounds.
Up next – The Crusaders take on the Patrick Henry Sentinels at home on February 21st at 5:15pm.