Lady Crusaders fall to No. 11 Mediapolis

MEDIAPOLIS - Tony Johnson knew the second half was not going to go Holy Trinity’s way less than a minute after it began.
Mediapolis’ Payton Bush banked in a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the half, shrugging her shoulders after the shot went through the net.
“I mean, right off the bat, second half, you bank one off the glass,” said Johnson, Holy Trinity’s coach.
It was that kind of night for the Crusaders, who let a first-half lead get away in a 54-35 loss to the No. 11 (Class 2A) Bulldogs on Tuesday night.
The Crusaders (1-3 overall, 0-3 SEI Superconference South Division) scored just four points in the third quarter after leading 25-21 at halftime.
Holy Trinity’s offense was plagued by turnovers in the second half. The Crusaders were either too aggressive or too tentative against Mediapolis’ pressure defense, and it cost them.
“We couldn’t keep somebody in the middle for some reason,” Johnson said.
And it didn’t help that the Crusaders lost freshman center Presley Myers late in the third quarter. Myers, who had 14 points, was a big part of helping Holy Trinity break the pressure with her height and presence in the middle of the court, but she went down with a leg injury after being fouled from behind and didn’t play the rest of the game.
“Losing kind of a key in the middle, or you can throw it to her over the top of the defense, that hurts,” Johnson said.
Myers was having her best offensive game of the season went she went down, and the loss of that punch inside affected the Crusaders.
It’s been a year of injuries for Holy Trinity. Guard Natalie Randolph is out for the season with a knee injury, forward Mary Kate Bendlage could return after suffering a knee injury in preseason practice. Myers’ injury didn’t appear serious — she was walking with a slight limp after the game — but it was another piece of bad luck for the Crusaders.
“When you’re seven deep, and then you lose one and another one’s banged up (center Jenna DiPrima appeared to tweak an ankle early in the second half) and now you’re five deep, yeah, you struggle,” Johnson said. “That’s where we are as a program, but there’s no one making excuses. Nobody’s making excuses. We’re still fighting.”
Holy Trinity led almost the entire first half behind Myers, whose scoring inside along with the ability to draw fouls helped counter four 3-pointers from the Bulldogs (3-0, 3-0).
Teagan Snaadt added nine points for the Crusaders, who play Friday at New London.