Genoa girls hold off Woodmore's 2nd half rally, stay undefeated

1/7/2011

GENOA — Genoa girls basketball coach Mike Destazio couldn't find much fault with the Comets' play in the first half of Thursday night's Suburban Lakes League contest with Woodmore.

The Comets limited the Wildcats to a total of five field goals and went into halftime with a comfortable 23-point edge.

The first-half push proved significant as Genoa climbed to 10-0 with a 57-44 victory over a Woodmore team that refused to fold after falling behind early.

Julie Swartzmiller and Brandi Schimming pumped in 14 points apiece to lead the Comets, who improved to 4-0 in the SLL. Alyssa Meis also finished in double figures with 12 points.

The 13-point victory didn't come as easy as the Comets would have anticipated after leading by as many as 24 points in the opening quarter. The Wildcats fought back with tenacious man-to-man defense in the second half and came as close as 11 points to the Comets, who committed 14 of their 16 turnovers

after halftime.

“I tell the kids every game we win, the target on us gets bigger,” Destazio said. “We knew we were in for a game with Woodmore.”

Audrey Thorbahn poured in a game-high 22 points, including 17 after halftime, and grabbed a team-high eight

rebounds to lead Woodmore (5-6, 3-2 SLL).

“It was a tale of two halves,” Woodmore coach Kyle Clair said. “We came out in the first two quarters and didn't execute at all.

“We finally got Audrey [Thorbahn] some touches in the second half and she carried us.”

The Comets claimed control of the first half by playing solid defense, limiting Thorbahn's opportunities, and pushing the ball up the court for easy baskets on fast-break opportunities.

Thorbahn didn't score in the opening quarter which ended with Genoa owning a 13-6 lead.

The Comets increased their lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Wildcats

22-15.

Swartzmiller, who scored 10 of her points before the break, commended the Wildcats for a challenging second half.

“They came out in the second half with a lot of energy and we were sitting on our heels,” Swartzmiller said. “But we were able to pull through.”

Contact Donald Emmons at:

demmons@theblade.com

or 419-724-6302.