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Academy of the Holy Names falls short in Jaguar Holiday Tournament

The host Jaguars, looking for a fourth straight win, hang around most of the final before fading late vs. Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic.
 
Holy Names coach Chris Severini on his Jaguars' tournament run: "This is the best three-day stretch we’ve had all season. We should be proud of the way we played in this tournament and now it’s on from here."
Holy Names coach Chris Severini on his Jaguars' tournament run: "This is the best three-day stretch we’ve had all season. We should be proud of the way we played in this tournament and now it’s on from here." [ DIRK SHADD | Tampa Bay Times ]
Published Jan. 5, 2020

TAMPA — Academy of the Holy Names played well in its first two games of the Jaguar Holiday Tournament. But in order to win the championship in their home gym against Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic, the Jaguars had to play even better.

While they hung around for most of the game, the Jaguars weren’t able to keep up and eventually lost 58-46 Saturday afternoon. It snapped a three-game win streak. Santa Fe Catholic has now won four straight, which includes a win over Lakewood in the Florida Prospects tournament a week ago.

“We made some mistakes defensively and if you make mistakes against a team like that they make you pay," AHN coach Chris Severini said. “That’s what it came down to. We fought with them, but those little mistakes hurt us."

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What also hurt was the 3-point shooting of the Hawks, especially guard Kirsten Grindel. They made nine 3-pointers overall, six from Grindel. All of her game-high 18 points came from 3-point shots.

Early on, however, the Jaguars hung around and it became apparent they were not going to let the Hawks have an easy day. A stifling defense led to turnovers and when Gabrielle Morrison hit a 3-pointer midway through the first, the Jaguars led 10-8.

By the end of the first, Santa Fe (12-4) held a slim 15-11 lead. Then the Hawks got rolling and looked like they may take control. They scored 10 of the next 12 points and built a 25-13 lead. It was 28-17 with just over two minutes left in the half when the Jaguars regained momentum.

They scored the final nine points of the quarter, which included two free throws and a 3-pointer by Angelie Pena, and trailed 28-23 at halftime.

It got much closer in the third quarter. With each team trading turnovers as well as baskets, the Hawks’ lead shrunk to 37-34 with 48 seconds left in the third when Pena hit another 3-pointer.

But Grindel popped a 3 and a late layup off a turnover grew the lead to eight points.

“Even though we had some foul trouble and some of the players we rely on weren’t playing their best, we were still in the game," Severini said. “We kind of fed off that. But unfortunately we ended up a little short."

The Jaguars (9-7) ran out of gas in the final eight minutes. The closest they could get was eight points early in the fourth. Grindel hit two more 3 and the Hawks also got several layups to put the game away.

The Jaguars defeated Steinbrenner (7-6) and Bishop McLaughlin (9-5) to get to the final round.

“We made two teams that are pretty good look uncomfortable in the first two rounds," Severini said. “This is the best three-day stretch we’ve had all season. We should be proud of the way we played in this tournament and now it’s on from here."

Pena finished with 17 points to lead AHN. She was also named to the all-tournament team. Dorothy Pickard of AHN and Northeast’s Jada Ballard were also named to the team.

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Santa’s Fe’s Kassidy Jones was named the tournament’s most valuable player. She scored nine points in the final.