St. John’s Catholic Prep jumped out to a 13-5 first quarter lead and withstood several runs by Friends School to defeat the Quakers, 48-30, in an IAAM C Conference semifinal basketball contest, Thursday in Frederick, to return to the league finals for a second consecutive year.
St. John’s used a stifling press to keep Friends off balance most of the game. A key moment came in the second quarter as both Marial Pierce and Christine Hagan were on the bench in foul trouble, but Brooke Wilson scored two big buckets to keep the lead at nine at half. Friends made several runs in the second half, but could not get the lead to under 10.
Marial Pierce scored 14 points, to go with nine rebounds and seven steals to lead SJCP. Shannon Greene contributed nine points.
Bealela Donelly had 18 points, 14 rebounds and four steals to lead Friends. Sophmore Molly Greene had 10 rebounds and four steals and two points.
St. John’s will meet Catholic High on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Goucher College for the title. The Cubs knocked off St. Timothy’s, 48-35, in Thursday’s other semifinal.
