2010 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Semi Finals | Game Photos.....

By Sean Frye - March 7, 2010

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- In one of the most highly touted conference playoffs in the nation, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference girls’ and boys’ semifinals took place Sunday.

GAME ONE (GIRLS): St. John’s (71) vs. Bishop McNamara (65)

In the first game of the day, the St. John’s Cadets girls’ squad faced off against the Bishop McNamara Mustangs. It was a back and forth game throughout, but the Cadets came through in the fourth quarter to walk away with the victory and advance to the WCAC finals on Monday.

The Cadets controlled the pace of the game to start the first quarter, eating up all the rebounds and getting inside. A late run by the Mustangs kept them close, but the Cadets led 17-15 after the first quarter.  In the second quarter, it was all Mustangs. They opened up with a 9-point run to give them a 24-17 lead. Cierra Strickland scored 11 points in the quarter, and the Mustangs led 37-33 at halftime.

After the break, the Cadets began to work their way back into the game. A balanced offensive attack allowed the Cadets to reclaim the lead. With the buzzer going off, Lindsay Allen nailed a jumper to put the Cadets up 47-46 with just one quarter to go.  In the fourth quarter, the Cadets finally were clicking on all cylinders and began to pull away from the Mustangs. They shot 11-13 from the foul line in the quarter, which prevented the Mustangs from making a comeback, and allowing the Cadets to advance to the finals with a 71-65 win.

“We were a little lackluster in the first half, but we came out at halftime wanting it more,” Cadets’ head coach Jonathan Scribner said.

Mooriah Rowser led the way for the Cadets, scoring 23 points, including 16 in the first half. Nicola Zimmer also scored 11. As for the Mustangs, Strickland led her squad with 20 points. Taylor Brown and Ashley Miles also contributed 11 and 10 points respectively.

GAME TWO (GIRLS): Paul VI (34) vs. Elizabeth Seton (61)

In the second girls’ semifinal, the Elizabeth Seton Roadrunners played host to the Paul VI Panthers. In a lopsided game, the Roadrunners dominated all aspects of the game to walk away with a convincing victory, thus setting a Monday date with the St. John’s Cadets for the WCAC title.

The Roadrunners came out and immediately set the tone of the game, playing tight defense and preventing the notoriously gritty Panthers’ offense from having much success. After one quarter, the Roadrunners held a convincing 11-4 lead behind five points from Tyaunna Marshall.

In the second quarter, the Roadrunners continued to simply dominate. Marshall scored eight points, and the Roadrunners coasted to a 31-11 halftime lead.  Not much changed in the second half. Jessica Long was able to find her stroke offensively for the Panthers, but it was simply too little, too late, as the Roadrunners ended up cruising to a 61-34 lead.

“We played really well all around. Now we need to beat one of the best guard teams in St. John’s,” said Roadrunners’ head coach Jazz Perazic. Marshall led all scorers with 24 points on the day. She was followed by Alexis Martin, who scored 16. As for the Panthers, Long was the only one to crack double digits with 19 points.

GAME THREE (BOYS): DeMatha (53) vs. St. John’s (47)

In the first boys match-up of the evening, the top seeded DeMatha Stags returned to Bender Arena to face the St. John’s Cadets. It was a battle the whole way, but a fourth quarter run by the Stags put the game out of reach, and they moved on to earn a place in the title game.

The high intensity that resonated throughout the game was immediately established to start the first quarter. The Cadets controlled the boards, which proved pivotal to them staying within striking distance. As the quarter ended, James Robinson nailed a 2-pointer to put the score at 15-9 in favor of the Stags.

In the second quarter, the Cadets began to slowly cut into the lead. Chris Martin went unconscious, hitting two 3-pointers and scoring 10 points in the quarter to inject some energy into the Cadets, who tied the game at 26-26 going into halftime.

After the halftime break, the Stags opened up the third quarter with a 9-point run, capped off by a 3-pointer from Quinn Cook. However, the Cadets responded with an 8-point run of their own to keep the game close. With just one quarter remaining, the Stags held a 39-34 advantage.

In the fourth quarter though, the Stags slowly began to pull away behind six points from Jerian Grant. They also hit 6-7 foul shots, preventing the Cadets from making a legitimate attempt at a comeback. When it was all said and done, the Stags walked away with a 53-47 win.

“We just wanted to stay with it, and we played well overall,” Cook said after the game.

Cook led all Stags’ scorers with 12 points. Martin was the head of the pack for the Cadets, dropping a game-high 20 points. Julian DeBose also poured in 14 for the Cadets.

GAME FOUR (BOYS): Gonzaga (63) vs. Bishop O’Connell (61)

The day couldn’t have ended better, as the Gonzaga Eagles defeated the Bishop O’Connell Knights on a buzzer-beating lay-up from Malcolm Lemmons in the last semifinal match-up of the day.

The game started with a 7-point run from the Eagles, whose tight defense kept the Knights from finding the lane. The Knights also struggled with turnovers, allowing the Eagles to take a 17-11 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Eagles extended their lead. Cedrick Lindsay scored 7 points for the Eagles in the quarter, but a Wesley Robinson 3-pointer with 15.2 seconds left in the half put the Knights within single digits, as they trailed 32-23.

To start the third quarter, Kendall Marshall, who didn’t score in the first half, began to find his stroke, scoring 10 points, including going on a solo 7-point run to put the score at 34-30 in favor of the Eagles. Marshall also hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to put the score at 50-44 with just one quarter left.

It was surely one of the most amazing fourth quarters in the entire WCAC season. Both teams went back and forth, with the Knights cutting the lead to 1-point off a Marshall 3-pointer with 6:50 left. Both squads went into a war, and with less than a minute to play, the Eagles held a 3-point lead. However, Lemmons missed a foul shot towards the end of the game, allowing the Knights one shot to tie the game.

Marshall nailed a lay-up with 5.6 seconds to go to tie the score at 61-61. However, the game wasn’t over yet. After a timeout, the Eagles in-bounded the ball and found Lemmons streaking to the basket. Lindsay heaved the pass, and Lemmons caught the ball underneath the basket and scooped the ball in for the game-winning shot, advancing the Eagles to the WCAC title game against DeMatha by a score of 63-61.

“I couldn’t believe I was so wide open, so when Cedrick threw the pass, I knew I had it,” Lemmons said.