Sarah Stewart was not going to let Notre Dame Prep lose Tuesday night.
The Fighting Irish freshman scored eight of her team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter, helping her team hold off visiting Allen Park Cabrini 47-41.
“In the first half she didn’t want to shoot much, because she’s a freshman,” Notre Dame Prep head coach Pat Battani said. “She does everything, but she doesn’t want to fee like she’s overstepping her freshman ‘thing.’
“She’s not afraid to shoot once she gets comfortable. She keeps making play after play.”
Stewart’s baseline triple with 2:38 to play put an exclamation point on a 7-0 Prep run, which extended the Irish lead to 40-33. Payton Williams gave the Irish the lead for good less than a minute earlier on a turn-around hook shot with 3:22 remaining.
Gretel Keller finished with eight points for the Irish, who won their ninth straight game after dropping the season opener. Sarah Beckett finished with six.
Cabrini’s Abigail Burke poured in a game-high 15 points, albeit in a losing effort. Olivia Mocnik chipped in eight for the Monarchs, who fell to 4-7.
Notre Dame Prep (9-1) was able to put the game away, only after it squandered a six-point lead earlier in the fourth quarter. Cabrini used a 7-0 run of its own to turn a 31-25 deficit into a 32-31 lead with 4:06 to play.
“They make it tough on us every time we play them, ” Battani said. “They play harder than anybody we ever play.
“They just keep coming.”
After Burke split at the line to tie the game at 33, with 3:38 left, Cabrini went scoreless for the next 78 seconds. That was more than enough time for Notre Dame to distance itself.
“They made plays, so we didn’t feel like we let one get away,” Cabrini head coach Mike Rozanski said. “They made their free throws and got some offense rebounds. That’s what it came down to.”
As a team, Notre Dame went 11-of-13 from the free throw line; Cabrini finished 9-of-18.
“We didn’t our free throws like we should and we missed some close put-backs, that if those go, it tightens up,” Rozanski said. “You’ve got to be perfect to beat the first-place team when you come into their place, and we weren’t.”
The Fighting Irish led 18-13 at the half after holding a 6-5 lead after the first quarter.
Notre Dame Prep will host Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central on Jan. 26; Cabrini will travel to Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard on Jan. 28.
MIPrepzone.com, Photo credit: Randy Castro
January 19, 2016