By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

A very pleased Coach Jonathan Scribner walked into the St. John’s girls basketball locker room and exulted, “This is a good win!”

The St. John’s girls shouted and clapped. Saturday’s 51-38 win over Good Counsel in Olney was big for several reasons, but as Scribner said, it was especially good for the Cadets’ locker room.

“It’s a huge win for our confidence and understanding what we can be as a team,” Scribner said.

While Good Counsel (9-2, 3-1 WCAC) had a very successful holiday season at the IAABO 134 Christmas Tournament with wins over Arundel and C.H. Flowers and a near upset of top-ranked Riverdale Baptist, St. John’s was in Phoenix struggling in the Nike Tournament of Champions.

The Cadets (5-6, 3-1)  fell to California power John Carroll after leading 22-7 at halftime. Then they fell to Lynwood, Calif., by 10 points and were blown out by Highlands Ranch, Colo. Overall, St. John’s went 1-3 at the Nike Tournament of Champions.

The flight was six hours back. “Six really long hours,” added Cadets forward Marissa Brock, who scored 10 key points Saturday.

“It was kind of disappointing because we had a couple teams where we definitely could have beat them by a lot,” Brock said. “I just feel like our team was really down on ourselves. But after this win, we’re going to be back in it and playing the way we should have been playing before.”

St. John’s still looked off its game at the game’s tip-off. The Cadets turned the ball over on their first three possession and never even got past half court.

Scribner took a timeout less than two minutes into the game to collect his team. Last year, he later explained, Good Counsel ran off a double-digit lead in the game’s first couple minutes.

But despite the Cadets’ slow start, Good Counsel equally struggled. The two teams combined for just 14 points in the first quarter with the Falcons leading 8-6.

The Cadets started to get in a flow in the second quarter largely because of Brock. The senior forward scored four straight points for St. John’s in the post, often against a double team as Good Counsel tried everything to lock down on the Cadets’ big post players.

Brock’s final basket of the run put the Cadets up 16-14, setting St. John’s up to maintain the lead at halftime.

“I love playing away because I love beating teams on their court,” Brock said. “I was really, really excited for this game and pumped up for it. … This was such a big game.”

While St. John’s heated up throughout the game, Good Counsel never got its shots to fall. The Falcons were relegated to shooting from the outside with Brock and Sydney Wilson altering shots inside.

St. John’s outscored the Falcons, 17-5, in the third quarter, essentially putting the game away.

St. John’s point guard Mariah Jones scored 10 points in the quarter after being held scoreless in the first half. She nailed two three-pointers at the start of the quarter, especially disheartening considering Good Counsel’s troubles shooting from outside. Jones finished with a game-high 17 points.

Jones injured her shoulder during St. John’s loss to Elizabeth Seton on Dec. 16 then reinjured it in the first game of the Nike Tournament of Champions. She didn’t play after that, but like the rest of the Cadets she was feeling much better Saturday night.

“When the other team is down, you’ve got to step on them,” Jones said. “It’s a great win to start of the New Year for us and get our confidence up.”