Girls Basketball: Providence D Stifles LWC

The Skinny: looked sharp early, up 19-16 in the second quarter against . But junior Alex Shermulis tied it with a 3-pointer and the Celtics wouldn't trail again, winning 53-32. They switched to a zone defense late in the first half and smothered the Knights to force a lot of turnovers and fast break scores.

Patch’s MVP: Senior Cassidy Glenn went on a tear in the second half with her quick hands on defense leading to nine third-quarter points (15 for the game). She packed the stat sheet and in one sequence got a steal, went coast-to-coast for the score, then forced another steal and got the pass for another bucket

Key Stats: On an unofficial count, the Knights had at least 10 turnovers. Central shot just 20 percent in the second half.

Providence Catholic Leaders: Shermulis (19 points, 4 rebounds); Glenn (15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals); Mary Fashingbauer (6 points, 2 rebounds).

Lincoln-Way Central Leaders: Autumn Schultz (10 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals); Ashley Newton (8 points, 7 rebounds); Rachel Post (6 points, 5 rebounds).

Quotable I: "We're pretty lanky," Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said about the Celtics ability to get into the passing lanes.

Quotable II: "Defensively they made an adjustment and we didn't adjust. It's pretty cut and dry. As a new coach this year, there's new schemes and there's still a lot of new things to learn," Central coach Chris Fetherling said. 

Team Records: Providence Catholic is 4-4. Lincoln-Way Central is 4-2.

What’s Next: The Knights are home against Normal Community at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Celtics don't play until 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Marian Catholic.