Jake Dreilinger
MAXWELL -- Cara Roberg scored 18 points and made the game-clinching steal as the St. Pat's girls basketball team held on to defeat Maxwell 50-46 on Thursday in Maxwell.
"I thought our girls did a really good job of settling into the game," St. Pat's coach Kelsie O'Neill said. "We started out kind of wild, but once we got settled in and got comfortable, especially in our offense, our girls hit some outside shots that we haven't hit this year. That was really nice to see."
Sophia Baca and Reese Fleck each scored 10 points, and Kinsey Kimberling added eight for the Irish.
Maddy Flock led Maxwell with 17 points, while Emory Christensen scored 10 and Jenna Miller had nine.
Both teams traded points early, but a Flock 3 gave Maxwell a 9-6 lead midway through the first quarter. Both teams traded points again until the Wildcats led 13-10 going into the second quarter.
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Maxwell grew its lead to 17-12 with a 4-2 run to start the frame, but the Irish quickly gained their first lead of the game with a 6-0 run fueled by Fleck's four points.
When Flock made a basket, Roberg responded with a 3 to kickstart a 9-2 run to end the first half with St. Pat's leading 27-21.
A quick Miller 3 to start the third quarter cut the deficit to three at 27-24, but Roberg made a 3 of her own to start an 8-0 run to put the Irish ahead 35-24.
Maxwell cut the deficit to two with a 10-1 run, but a Fleck 3 extended the Irish lead back to five at 39-34 going into the fourth quarter.
St. Pat's held a seven-point lead at 45-38 midway through the quarter, but Maxwell went on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to one at 47-46 near the end of the game.
Fleck was fouled and made one free throw to put the Irish back up by two. The Irish missed two free throws in an effort to put away the game, but Roberg got the game-clinching steal with 6.3 seconds left and made both of her free throws as the Irish won 50-46.
"They're very capable, young ladies," O'Neill said. "I continue to tell them all the time, 'You got the green light. Shoot the ball.' They're good shooters and they show it in practice. It just doesn't always confidently translate into a game, so as a coach, you try to find ways to motivate them to want to keep shooting. It's nice to see them knock some shots down because then they want to keep shooting."
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