The Notre Dame girls basketball team gave a clinic on not giving up last week, when down 21-7 at the half against Lehigh Christian, they pulled within one point near the end of the game, closing out the game with a 34-29 loss that at least became a moral victory.
“The girls rallied,” said head coach Eileen Wurz. “You know they certainly have the spirit this year.”
The Spartans were dominated in the first half of the Jan. 28 game, being deprived of most rebounds with Lehigh playing a tight defense. Natalie Van de Loecht scored four in the first quarter and three in the second, accounting for all Notre Dame’s scoring in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Spartans had added only five more points. But they came back in the fourth with 17 points holding Lehigh to only two points from the floor though they gave up six points in free throws from Leah Lakits, who scored 30 of Lehigh’s 34 points. Her last four free throws came after Notre Dame was just a point away.
“The spirit of this team this year is just carrying us through,” Wurz said. “We almost took it again. But I’m happy the way they came back the second half.”
Van de Loecht scored 19 points on the night with Naomi Craig posting six points.
The Spartans follow the game with a 60-37 win over Agnes Irwin Jan. 27 followed by a 46-7 loss to Stroudsburg Jan. 28. Next game is home against Moravian Feb. 3.
Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer
Joe was lured out of retirement by the opportunity to be a part of the Ridge View Echo. During a decades-long career in publishing and journalism, he has covered government on many levels from local school boards to the United States Supreme Court.
Along the way, Joe has worked at American Lawyer Magazine, The National Law Journal and The Record among other publications, and as the Press Officer of Columbia Law School. His work has been recognized with several first place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the New Jersey Press Association.
Being part of the Ridge View Echo brings Joe back to his roots and the kind of news coverage he loves: Telling the stories of people and local communities as well as keeping an eye on how their money is spent by their government officials.
Joe lives in Blairstown with his wife Rose, the founder of Quilting for a Cause, and their two wiener dogs. He is an artist in his spare time.
