O'FALLON, Mo. • Usually, when two schools located right down the street from one another get together for a sporting event, there is a lot of pride at stake.
That just wasn't the case as host O'Fallon Christian and neighboring Fort Zumwalt North got together Monday for a rather friendly game as North headed down Tom Ginnever Avenue and came away with the 49-37 victory.
"A lot of the girls know and like each other," North guard McKenna Kelly said. "This isn't the type of atmosphere there'd be when our boys teams get together. Their boys are really good and our boys are playing well. There's none of that (animosity). It's not like when we play (Zumwalt) South."
North (7-13) opened the game on a 10-2 run, thanks to its defensive pressure.
A steal and layup by Kelly with 1 minute, 23 seconds left in the quarter capped the run.
"We started off really well, but then we kind of lost it (the defensive intensity) in the second half," Zumwalt North coach Cherice Mack said. "That's basically how we try to work it. Our defense turns into offense for us."
Christian (8-12) turned up a little pressure of its own and also controlled the boards in the second quarter as the Eagles cut the lead to 17-14 by halftime.
The effort was something Christian coach Dave Lehmann was happy to see.
"We had some turnovers (early) that were a bit uncharacteristic of us," Lehmann said. "We were still able to remain in the game because we had some high energy moments that really kept us in it."
Zumwalt North came out early in the second half and extended the lead to 24-16 behind the offensive efforts of Kelly, Shelby Bateman and Marche' Belcher.
The work put in by the trio, and most of the team for that matter, has been there for the Panthers, Mack said.
She added the frequency of success needs to be higher.
"When these girls all bring their game to the court and play the way they are capable of playing, they're all good," Mack said. "When they're all working together, it's good. We just need a little more consistency."
By the end of the third quarter, Zumwalt North led 29-22.
The Panthers extended the lead to 14 points in the fourth quarter before the final margin was settled at 12.
Kelly led Zumwalt North with 13 points. Bateman had 11 points and Belcher added nine.
"Shelby and I click really well when we play basketball," Kelly said. "We're good friends off the court, too. When we play basketball together, it's just much more fun."
Christian's Krista Reese led all scorers with 15 points.
"Krista is a nice player," Lehmann said. "She is our leading scorer. The thing is that we, as a team, got pretty good shots. It's just that a lot of them didn't go in."
