Mount St. Charles Downs Johnston, 41-35

Johnston rallied to negate a five-point halftime deficit in the Feb. 16 girls' basketball match, but Mount St. Charles Academy withstood the second-half surge to defeat the Panthers, 41-35, in Woonsocket.

The Mounties have now won 15 consecutive games to establish themselves as the frontrunners in Division II North. They are 15-1 overall and 13-1 in league play, 2.5 games ahead of second-place Johnston, whose intra-divisional mark is now 11-4 after Wednesday’s setback. The Panthers overall record is 13-6.

Johnston had won three in a row and seven of its last eight contests prior to Wednesday’s meeting with the Mounties.

“We didn’t step up to the test,” said Dan Mazzulla, head coach of the Panthers. “We’re still maturing. We still need to mature and be more consistent in our play from the beginning to the end, from night to night.”

Though Johnston scored four of the game’s first six points Wednesday, the Panthers were unable to regain the advantage after Mount St. Charles established a 6-4 lead.

Senior Maria Saia scored four consecutive points to expand the Mounties’ margin to six prior to intermission, and despite eight first-half points for Johnston’s Alaina DeNoncour, Mount St. Charles led 21-16 at halftime.

The Mounties also led prior to intermission Dec. 9, when they fell to the Panthers, 41-36, in Johnston.

"It went into overtime last game, so it was tight in the last game, too,” said Nina Morey, head coach of the Mounties. “The last one, in the beginning, we had come out, and then in the second half, they caught up to us. This time, it was tight the whole way.”

Senior captain Gianna Mazzulla initiated Johnston’s second-half attack with a three-point play to pull her team within two points of the Mounties, and the Panthers eventually closed the gap with two more of DeNoncour’s team-high 13 points. Mazzulla added four second-half points to score 11 overall.

“We know we have to do our job defensively,” More said. “They have a lot of good players and we know we have to stop them.”

The Mounties induced no fewer than 20 turnovers, according to Mazzulla, limiting the Panthers with man-to-man defense throughout the game. While Johnston struggled for one good shot with each possession, Mount St. Charles crashed the offensive glass to seize second and third opportunities.

“We’re always preaching consistency,” Mazzulla said. “They were very consistent in their defense, and we didn’t box out well.”

Saia grabbed 12 rebounds Wednesday, and she added nine second-half points to finish the game with 18 overall. She chipped in eight from the charity stripe, including a pair to re-claim the lead for the Mounties, 26-24.

The Panthers closed to within one point of Mount St. Charles during the second half, but the Mounties did not relinquish the advantage, eventually expanding the bulge to six with one of two three-point shots from Paige LaBreche.

The Panthers converted just 6-of-11 free throw attempts as a team. The Mounties were 13-of-20 from the line, outscoring the Panthers, 20-19, during the second half.

“We’ve been working hard at being consistent throughout the whole game, and we’ve gotten better at that,” Morey said.

The Mounties will seek a 16^th win Friday, February 18, when they visit Central Falls (8-10 Overall, 5-9 Division II North).

Johnston will return to the court Friday, February 18, for a meeting with the Blue Wave of Hope High School (10-5 Overall, 9-5 Division II North).