St. Paul earns two victories against Pleasanton

By Camden McFarland

camden@hometowngirard.com

The St. Paul Indians’ girls and boys basketball teams improved their records on the season to 11-2 and 7-5, respectively, after victories against Pleasanton Tuesday, Jan. 30.

In the girls’ game, Pleasanton was no team to be doubted as St. Paul gave their greatest effort to win the matchup.

In the first quarter, St. Paul and Pleasanton were neck-and-neck as they each scored 11 points.

The Lady Indians earned a small lead in the second quarter after scoring eight points while Pleasanton scored six.

Both teams’ intensities remained the same in the third quarter, as St. Paul fought to outscore Pleasanton 8-7 and increase their lead to three points.

Once again, the Lady Indians just managed to outwork Pleasanton in the fourth quarter. St. Paul’s persistent offense scored 11 points while their defense held Pleasanton to eight points, bringing the final score to 38-32 in St. Paul’s favor.

St. Paul’s Katelin O’Brien had the most impressive offensive performance of the night, scoring 16 points on her own.

On the boys’ side St. Paul struggled initially, and it quickly became apparent that they would have their work cut out for them.

In the first quarter, Pleasanton quickly earned a lead after scoring 14 points and holding St. Paul to five points.

The Indians began to wake up in the second quarter and scored 11 points, but Pleasanton scored six to maintain a 20-16 lead.

St. Paul cut their deficit to one point in the third quarter after adding 10 points to their score and allowing Pleasanton to score just 13 points.

With the pressure on St. Paul to steal the lead, they pulled a miraculous performance out in the fourth quarter and scored 21 points. Pleasanton scored 14 points, but this just wasn’t enough.

The Indians rightfully earned the victory against Pleasanton with a final score of 50-44.

St. Paul’s Brenden Doherty led the team’s offense throughout the night, scoring 21 individual points.

The Indians’ next matchups will be Tuesday, Feb. 6, against Jayhawk Linn at home.