Lucky Seven for St. Timothy’s basketball

In a battle of unbeaten teams in the  IAAM C Conference, St. Timothy’s outlasted Friends School, 40-31, Thursday evening in Stevenson.  With the victory, St. Timothy’s improved to 4-0 in the league and 7-0 overall. Friends dropped to 6-2 overall, 4-1 in IAAM C play.

St. Timothy’s started quickly and played a nearly flawless first quarter, ending with a 14-2 lead. It didn’t help the Quaker cause when Bealela Donnelly picked up two quick fouls and had to sit awhile, especially with the senior forward coming off a triple-double performance in a win over Oldfields the previous day.

The Quakers made a run in the second period, but St. Timothy’s managed to carry a 25-11 lead into the half. Turnovers proved to be the Achilles heel for St. Tim’s in the third stanza, giving the team fewer offensive possessions and enabling Friends to go on another run, as the visitors won the quarter, 14-7, and closed to within five points.

But the hosts pulled it together in the final quarter, overcame the loss of sophomore forward Damisha Hazelton to fouls early in the quarter, and protected the lead, thanks in part to a huge three-pointer from freshman guard Aryonna Hutchinson and some key free throws down the stretch, sealing the nine-point win.

Donnelly led the Quakers with eight points, while Nurisha Rodriquez was next with seven.  Molly Green and Emma Sissman added five points each.

St. Timothy’s coach Mike Buchanan got balanced scoring from four players with Tori Schuler and Hutchinson each scoring 11. Hazelton was right behind with 10 points and sophomore guard Kelsie Bacon added eight. Schuler, a senior forward, added 14 rebounds and four assists.  Hutchinson had eight rebounds, played excellent defense, and hit three big 3-pointers.

St. Timothy’s hit the road for games at Glenelg Country and Annapolis Area Christian next week, before hosting defending C champ St. John’s Catholic Prep next Saturday.