Winning the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament held over the holidays was the perfect and well-earned present for the Foxes’ girls’ basketball team.
The Foxes defeated Avonworth in their first game, 53-22, and then scored a come-from-behind win against Shady Side Academy 42-38. Shady Side previously was the top-ranked team in their conference and had a 7-0 record.
“We have come back three times from double digit deficits to win this year,” says Coach Jenn O’Shea. “Shady Side has some talent and plays a very tough defense. We had a slow start and were down 14-0, but to our girls’ credit, they didn’t quit, and I was pleased with how we pressed in the fourth quarter and forced turnovers.”
“Against Avonworth, their star player scored eight points in the first quarter, but did not have a field goal the rest of the game,” adds the obviously proud coach. “We held her to only 10 points and holding the team to 22 points was impressive. Prior to the tournament, they were 3-0 in their section.”
For the Foxes, the top scorers in the match up against Shady Side were Gabby Guerrieri with 14 points and Claire Fenton scored 12 points. Ellie Schwartzman had 12 points against Avonworth and Gabby contributed 11 points.
So far, this is the team’s best start since Coach O’Shea took over in 2014.