Consistent offense has proven difficult to come by at times for the Mt. Hebron girls basketball team during the season’s opening two weeks.
The good news for the Vikings, as they showcased Friday against visiting Glenelg, is there’s more than one way to get in the win column.
Mt. Hebron clogged the passing lanes, grabbed contested rebounds and forced difficult shots for a full four quarters on the way to a breakthrough 32-28 victory. While it marks the first win this winter for the Vikings (1-3), coach Tierney Ahearn said she’s thrilled to see the team’s effort and defensive intensity — holding each of its four opponents to 45 points or less — quickly becoming its calling card.
“As a coach, I feel like my identifier is that I get kids to work hard and I get them to play great defense. That is who I am and it’s what I stand for,” Ahearn said. “And I will be the first to tell you, it’s really hard to get kids to be that and embody that if you don’t get some Ws along the way. So to have a game like tonight, where defense absolutely won us that game, goes such a long way to reinforcing everything we have been working on.”
Mt. Hebron sophomore Pearl Prasartkarnka, who led the way with a team-high 13 points, echoed her coach’s sentiments.
“It feels really great to be able to pull together and get a win … to get to see some success after a few losses,” Prasartkarnka said. “I feel like tonight we did a good job of not looking at the scoreboard, keeping our heads up and focusing on the next play. Even when we weren’t making shots, we kept playing hard on defense.”
Glenelg (1-3) was led in the loss by Maria Garbis’ season-high 16 points, which included three 3-pointers in a hot-shooting night.
The Gladiators never trailed in the first half and the game was tied at 22 going into the fourth quarter. That’s when the Mt. Hebron defense clamped down to hold Glenelg scoreless for seven straight minutes.
“We were trying literally anything we could to switch things up and get higher percentage shots — subbing offense and defense, trying to have our defense spark our offense — but every time we looked up we were still stuck on 22 points until the final minute of the game there,” Glenelg coach David Ebbe said. “Maria hit a couple huge 3s at the end, but by that point it just wasn’t quite enough.”
Garbis’ last 3-pointer cut the Vikings’ lead to a point, 28-27, with 27 seconds left. Mt. Hebron freshman Jaelyn Peters (8 points) answered with a layup. Then, in the final seconds, fellow freshman Michelle Nzelibe (5 points) sank a game-clinching foul shot that made it a two-possession game.
“Michelle didn’t come off the floor the entire night tonight and that’s incredible for any player, but especially a freshman. And really both freshmen made huge plays for us down the stretch,” Ahearn said. “Their play in those big moments is a great snapshot of how I feel like this entire team is learning, growing and getting better every game.”
It took a while for both teams to settle in. Glenelg led, 5-2, at the end of the first quarter and the two teams combining for just nine total field goals in the first half.
Things picked up after intermission, though. Prasartkarnka scored nine points in the third quarter to lead the Vikings, while Garbis found her shooting touch in the middle of the period to pace the Gladiators.
There were four ties and three lead changes in the first eight minutes after halftime.
But Mt. Hebron scored five straight points in the early stages of the fourth quarter while playing smothering defense, creating a lead it never relinquished.
Mount Hebron 32, Glenelg 28
MH (1-3): Pearl Prasartkarnka 13, Jaelyn Peters 8, Michelle Nzelibe 5, Leen Jawhar 4, Madison Casto 2.
G (1-3): Maria Garbis 16, Emmy Dello Russo 6, Reese Holden 4, Jordan Henggeler 2.
Half: 12-11 Glenelg.