Mercy rolls to fifth consecutive victory

No. 7 Tigers have won five straight since season opener

MIDDLETOWN » The Mercy girls basketball team that opened its season with a disappointing loss against Hand has been missing in action for almost a month now. It certainly didn’t take long for the Tigers to right the ship.

Mercy rolled to its fifth consecutive win with a dominating 63-27 SCC victory over Lauralton Hall on Friday night. The seventh-ranked Tigers recent stretch has also included impressive non-league victories over Farmington and Norwich Free Academy.

“We’ve been a totally different team the last two weeks,” Mercy coach Tim Kohs said. “Our practice habits have been better. I thought we played really well tonight effort-wise and with intensity.”

Mercy built leads of 19-7 after one quarter and 37-16 at halftime.

The Tigers, however, were at their best from midway through the third quarter to the end of the game. After Crusaders sophomore Julia Sendzik buried a 3-pointer along with a pair of free throws to make it 40-23, Mercy went on a 23-2 run.

Tigers sophomore Lexi Leon got things rolling with a driving layup, while reserve forward Vienna Knox scored eight of her 10 points during the big spurt.

“We couldn’t do anything right for the first five minutes of the third quarter and then all of a sudden we couldn’t do anything wrong,” Kohs said

Sendzik finished with 14 points, while senior Trish Gildea added 11 points for the Crusaders (1-4).

“The heart was there, the desire was there, and the competitiveness was there,” Lauralton Hall coach

Amanda Forcucci said. “We’re a young team still searching for some chemistry. The kids did exactly what we asked, diving on the ground, trying to get rebounds. Mercy is a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. So I’m proud of the way we played.”

Mercy junior center Megan DeVille scored 15 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Kameryn King chipped in 11 points and Nicole Ladas came off the bench and scored eight points for the Tigers, who were without junior point guard Bella Santoro (injury).

“We got good contributions from a lot of kids tonight,” Kohs added. “And Bella, who got hurt in the Farmington game, we’ll be back soon.”

JIMMY ZANOR - THE MIDDLETOWN PRESS Mercy junior Samantha Chapps looks to drive past Lauralton Hall’s Lauren Adams during the first half Friday night in Middletown.