Game of the weekend: St John’s Vs. PVI

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St John's visited PVI on Sunday in a game that went right down to the wire. Here's how it played out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1st Quarter<br></strong>Kyndal Walker started the scoring with two free throws to kick off the first few minutes that St. John's dominated. After a few made jumpers and a Carolae Burton lay-in, it helped them get out to a 9-0 lead. PVI got their scoring started with a [player_tooltip player_id='238889' first='Laura' last='Williams'] post-hook. PVI went on a run, getting many stops and some big threes by [player_tooltip player_id='364761' first='Ava' last='Limcaoco']. A [player_tooltip player_id='579891' first='Demi' last='Gilliam'] and 1 gave PVI a 13-12 lead at the end of the first Quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2nd Quarter<br></strong>Another [player_tooltip player_id='364761' first='Ava' last='Limcaoco'] three started the second Quarter, and it was the start of a nice stretch for PVI. Ava had a great game; without her shot-making, this game would have looked different. Ava also did a great job as a ball handler, breaking St. John's press along with her excellent day scoring. Throughout this second Quarter, St. John's struggled to score. The length of [player_tooltip player_id='238889' first='Laura' last='Williams'] and the activity of [player_tooltip player_id='579891' first='Demi' last='Gilliam'] really gave St. John's issues. Kyndal Walker had a couple of nice buckets in this Quarter to keep St. John's close. Kyndal did great work in the mid-range all game, and her aggressiveness as a driver helped her get to the line throughout the game. After both offenses stalled for much of the Quarter, they went to halftime tied at 20-20.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3rd Quarter<br></strong>A Carolae Burton offensive rebound that she turned into a lay-in got the scoring started out the break for St. John's. That was followed by a nice drive by [player_tooltip player_id='579891' first='Demi' last='Gilliam'], which a strong take by Morgan Stewart eventually followed. Jaidyn first='Harper' last=''] knocked down 2 threes and made 2 free throws that stretched the St. John's lead to 10. Jaidyn had an excellent day shooting and played well off Kyndal Walker's aggressive driving. [player_tooltip player_id='902372' first='Lee' last='Williams'] knocked down a much-needed three for PVI that halted a big St. John's run. St. John's took a 37-28 lead into the 4th Quarter following a dominant quarter on both sides.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4th Quarter<br></strong>A big [player_tooltip player_id='364761' first='Ava' last='Limcaoco'] three got the scoring started in the 4th, and a couple of St. John's layups pushed the lead back to 10. Another [player_tooltip player_id='364761' first='Ava' last='Limcaoco'] three helped spark an excellent stretch for PVI. They strung together a lot of stops, and [player_tooltip player_id='238889' first='Laura' last='Williams']' interior defense helped that. Laura is a high-level defender, making any finish in the paint tough for St. John's. PVI was able to pull within 3 with about 90 seconds left. After Kyndal Walker split at the line, A nice move from [player_tooltip player_id='238889' first='Laura' last='Williams'] cut the lead to 2. Laura also dominated in the paint on offense to go along with her outstanding defense. She had a lot of tough moves using her length around the rim and turning into nice finishes out the post. After Laura split at the line, Morgan Stewart hit two free throws that put St. John's up by 3 with 11 seconds left. [player_tooltip player_id='364761' first='Ava' last='Limcaoco'] barely missed a long three-pointer to send the game to overtime, and St. John's was able to take this game 50-47.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->