Two very solid defensive teams locked up, and nothing came easy

It had been 13 days since the reigning D2 regional champs, Napoleon Wildcats, had played a game. It showed, they weren’t sharp, and they weren’t as crisp as they’d like to have been. They also had D1 regional semifinalist Magnificat waiting for them.

Napoleon likes to get up and down the floor, Magnificat is more methodical and calculated offensively. Napoleon and Magnificat are both very strong defensively. This resulted in only 61 field goal attempts between both teams, Napoleon made 12, Mags made 11. The difference in this one was at the free throw line where Napoleon enjoyed a 12 point advantage.

The Wildcats started off getting some steals that led to buckets, while Mags started early strapped with some foul trouble. Even into the 3rd quarter the Streaks spark plug Mollie La Spisa had to spend some extended time on the bench as Napoleon grew the lead. Magnificat 2022 post Cam Jones hit some tough shots in the second quarter including a stepback that ended an 11-0 run by the Wildcats.

Mags cut the lead to 31-23 in the 3rd quarter but Napoleon answered with a run that included a Kalli Helberg trey and a Taylor Strock pull-up jumper, that extended the deficit to 16 points. Napoleon never looked back from there.

Mags was led by senior Clare Chambers who dropped in 14 points and junior Cam Jones with nine. Senior Caely Ressler led Napoleon with 12 points, 10 of which were from the line. Senior Taylor Strock backed her up with 10 of her own while another senior Kalli Helberg finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.