By: Luke Potosky

St. Raphael came out on fire by shooting the ball well and forcing some St. Francis turnovers. #32 Brynn Roggenburk and #23 Kayleigh McMahon led the way offensively in the first half. McMahon hit a DEEP three pointer on the right side for one of the notable buckets of the half. However, it was St. Raphael’s stifling defense that stood out. St. Francis of Assisi got on the scoreboard thanks to two Gabbie Moore (#4) free throws. #52 Sophie Georgiadis of St. Raphael hit a deep three thanks to a picket fence inbound play that was assisted by #34 Cara Heisterkamp. Roggenburk also hit a couple of shots near the end of the half to put St. Raphael up 17-2 at halftime.

In the second half, St. Raphael kept pace and shot the ball well from the perimeter and inside the free throw line. Some notable shots included Georgiadis hitting a deep three from the right side to open the half and a Heisterkamp bank shot to end the third quarter. For St. Francis, they got more players to score as Katie Puletti (#5) scored three points in less than a minute, and Lily Toth (#10) scored a fastbreak bucket and assisted to her teammate Mya Jones (#43) for another layup. Toth went on to say postgame that, “…it was a great play and she just found her.” St. Raphael kept up their stifling defense into the fourth quarter and ran all the way to victory 33-12. However, after the game, Heisterkamp said that St. Raphael wanted to, “…improve their defensive play for later in the season.”

St. Francis of Assisi team leaders included Katie Puletti (five points), Megan Palinski (six rebounds), and Lily Toth (one assist). St. Raphael team leaders included Brynn Roggenburk (11 points & three assists), Sophie Georgiadis (10 points & six rebounds), and Cara Heisterkamp (seven points & two rebounds).