Watson, Sacred Heart wake up in fourth quarter, beat Nardin
Girls basketball
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sacred Heart's Krystal Watson goes up for a shot while Nardin's Erin O'Brien tries for a block during the Sharks' 56-29 win last Friday at the Villa Maria Athletic Center. Watson led all players with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

It took three quarters for Krystal Watson to wake up but once the fourth quarter hit, she couldn't be stopped.

The 6-0 senior forward scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter as Sacred Heart (6-1, 5-0) won 56-29 over rival Nardin (1-3) last Friday at Villa Maria's Athletic Center.

"I saw what the score was (at the beginning of the fourth quarter) and realized that I needed to step up," said Watson, who also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Watson was everywhere on the court in the fourth quarter. After a three-pointer by Nardin's Leila Gentile cut the Sharks' lead to 33-26, Watson put back a missed layup by senior guard Sam Arena to extend the advantage to 35-26. On four straight possessions later in the quarter, Watson took the ball strong to the hoop for a layup, fed Arena for a bounce pass and layup, stole the ball and scored a basket, then blocked a shot and hit a short jumper.

"Earlier in the game, I was off but I never gave up and kept on pushing," said Watson. "Eventually I came through in the fourth."

It seemed like as Watson got hot, so did the team. The Sharks outscored Nardin, 23-6, in the fourth quarter.

"They all reacted to her," said Sacred Heart coach Sister Maria Pares. "They played hard. Everybody on the team saw time."

"They outhustled us, which is the most annoying part, they shot better and they rebounded better than us," said Nardin coach Jake Herlihy, who only returns one full-time starter, Gentile, and a half-time starter, Laura Sciarrino. "They did everything it takes to win and we didn't."

The game started off horribly for both teams. After a three by Gentile on Nardin's first possession of the game, neither team scored until Watson tied it on a put back with 4:03 left in the quarter. Baskets by Sacred Heart's Liz Tramposch and Nardin's Sciarrino made the score 4-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Trailing 10-7 in the second quarter, Sacred Heart went on a 15-5 run to close out the first half ahead, 25-12. Nardin closed the score to 33-23 after three quarters.

Pares lauded her team's defensive effort on Nardin's outside shooters.

"I thought our defense was terrific," said Pares. "I thought we ran the floor well. "I'm a very happy camper."

Junior guards Devon Hornung and Alycia Pontello added eight and seven points, respectively for the Sharks.

Sacred Heart opened its week last Tuesday with a 42-33 home win over Holy Angels.

Angels led, 21-20, at halftime but the Sharks, led by the defensive charge of Haley Pickett and Pontello, led the Sharks to victory. Pontello had 14 points. Pickett added eight.

"Haley got some key steals at the end of the game and we made our free throws," said Pares.

Sacred Heart returns to action at 6 p.m. Thursday against Silver Creek in the first round of the Fredonia Tournament at Fredonia High School. They face Fredonia or Frontier in the consolation at 6 p.m. or the final at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.