Notre Dame Prep (2-4, 1-3) notched its first league win on Tuesday with a 69-18 rout of St. John’s Catholic Prep, in Frederick, in IAAM A-Conference basketball action.

 

Twelve players lit up the scoring column for NDP, as the Blazers jumped out to a 32-8 lead and never looked back.

 

Coach Kate Campitelli’s post players had their way inside, as four players combined for 39 points in the paint, led by sophomore Meghan Helm and senior Lauren Mazzone with 13 points apiece. Sophomore Tessa Niehoff added nine and Abby Crumbling chipped in with four.

 

The guards also got into the act, combining for 30 points. Junior Katie Liberatore scored 11, followed by senior Beth Cruz with five. Six others scored as well.

 

NDP had opened league play with a close four-point loss to St. Paul’s School for Girls, followed by losses to McDonogh and St. Frances, so Campitelli and team were happy to get that first win under their belts.

 

Hard times continue for St. John’s Catholic Prep. New Coach Sheldon Henry took over a program that was basically winless in the league last year. The Vikings won their finale over NDP, but the Blazers had beaten them in the first meeting and were without half of the team that final game, with the seniors away on a New York school trip.

 

Campitelli had her entire group this time, and Henry inherited a team that not only went 1-15, but lost almost all of its scoring due to the graduation of center Cecelia Herald (15.5 ppg) and guard Anne Marie Famoso (13.6), a duo that combined for just under 30 points per game.

 

That scoring loss is felt, regardless of the record, as the Vikings have only been able to muster 18 points per game in offense this season. Last year, SJCP lost by an average of 29.2 points per game, but this year that margin is up to 47 points per game, including a 55-point loss to Spalding along with Tuesday’s 51-point loss to NDP.

 

Junior transfer Lisa Blagojevic led St. John’s (0-5, 0-4) with six points.

 

 
NDP 69, St. John's-CP 18

NDP -  L. Workmeister 2, Bozel 2, Cruz 5, R. Quinn 4, M. Quinn 2, E. Workmeister 2, Helm 13, Liberatore 11, Burke 2, Crumbling 4, Niehoff 9, Mazzone 13. Totals 31 6-12 69.
SJCP - Blagojevic 6, Ballenger 4, Middeke 2, Denney 3, Usiak, Kilduff 2. Totals 7 4-13 18. Half: NDP, 32-8.

 

-- Mike Buchanan