St. Frances Rallies Past Western- Top Performers

The Western Doves made the trip down to East Baltimore to take on the St. Frances Academy Panthers of the IAAM. The Doves controlled this game for more than 3 quarters thanks to some stellar play by their outstanding senior backcourt, [player_tooltip player_id="137209" first="Ny’Ceara" last="Pryor"] and [player_tooltip player_id="88782" first="Gabrielle" last="Johnson"]. The Panthers made a furious rally in the fourth quarter behind some hot shooting by Ja’la Bannerman and inside dominance by [player_tooltip player_id="163911" first="Andea" last="Cherisier"]. Bannerman scored 21 and Cherisier finished with 17. Pryor and Johnson score 42 of Western’s 48 points and that was not enough balance to beat a quality team like St. Frances. <strong>Ja’la Bannerman, 2022, St. Frances</strong> Ja’la kept the Panthers in striking distance in the first half and then caught fire in the second half. She finished with 21 points including five 3 pointers. She has really put in work on her jumper and it is showing up in games. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="163911" first="Andea" last="Cherisier"], 2023, St. Frances</strong> Andea patiently waited for her opportunities and then took advantage when they presented themselves. Western went to man to man defense and that’s when she started to feast in the paint, scoring and drawing fouls. She has solid footwork and a nice touch on her shot. The up and under finishes through contact were nice to see. She finished with 17 big points in the game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="163910" first="Kameryn" last="Dorsey"], 2023, St. Frances</strong> Kam figured out the assignment in the second half and delivered an outstanding performance. For the game she had zero points but she still found a way to make an impact. When you have two teammates that are hot and helping your team rally you get them the ball. She patiently got the team into their sets and helped find the mismatches they were trying to exploit. She made the correct passes at the right times with accuracy which allowed her teammates to shine. She kept her composure and the team fed off her leadership. The growth is real. <strong>Gabby Johnson, 2022, Western</strong> Not the best shooting game for Gabby but she competed hard as usual and provided some spectacular highlight reel plays, including a tremendous block on a much bigger player. She finished with 13 points and several steals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137209" first="Ny’Ceara" last="Pryor"], 2022, Western </strong> Lil Mama led everyone in scoring with a game high 29 points. She has been playing like a player of the year candidate and she showed off her full arsenal in this game. She showed off her improved 3 point shot by knocking down two in the game. She grabbed 10 rebounds despite being the smallest player on the court. Sacred Heart University is getting a good one.