Prep girls basketball: Sacred Heart knocks off another rival, improves to 6-0 in Kaysinger

With two of the three main obstacles knocked out, the Sacred Heart Gremlins entered Tuesday’s tilt with Smithton knowing a win would all but seal the deal in their bid for Kaysinger Conference regular-season crown.

At 5-0 in league play, the Gremlins had already survived two big tests early in the season, defeating defending Kaysinger tournament champion Cole Camp on the road and co-defending Kaysinger regular-season champion Windsor, which finished 9-1 alongside Smithton in league play last year.

And while end-of-the-year meetings against Stover, Green Ridge and Northwest loom for the Gremlins, who will be heavily favored in each tilt, the Tigers remained the team to beat on the remaining schedule.

But reminiscent of last year’s Class 2, District 8 championship, the Gremlins had no trouble dispatching their rival.

Johanah Hohne came off the bench and led three players in double figures with 13 points, Claire Fischer pulled down a club-best 11 boards and Sacred Heart capitalized on a 16-0 run midway through the game en route to a 48-37 win on their home court.

Erica Stone added 12 points, six rebounds and four steals and Gabbi Ebers chipped in 10 points for the Gremlins, who lead the 7-1 Greyhounds and Bluebirds in the regular-season league standings.

The Tigers (10-8, 4-3) had won five straight entering the contest, including a rout of Crest Ridge, but without Cierra Monsees they struggled against Sacred Heart’s relentless pressure. The end result was 19 turnovers committed to go along with a 20-percent shooting clip from the floor and a 3-for-14 effort from beyond the arc.

That included a three-point effort in the second quarter, when the Gremlins  (12-4, 6-0) recovered from a slow start.

Early on, the contest was anything but a rout. Relying on the outside shot, Sacred Heart missed all eight attempts from beyond the arc on its way to a 4-of-14 effort. But Smithton had shooting woes of its own, making just 2 of its 13 shots while going 2 of 6 from the charity stripe.

The result was an 8-7 lead for the Gremlins, who buckled down in the second quarter. Using a full-court press and cutting off the passing lanes, the Gremlins forced nine turnovers in the second quarter and held the Tigers to 1 of 5 shooting.

The turnovers translated into layups on the fast break as the Gremlins shot 8 of 13 in the frame and ended the half on a 11-0 run to take a 26-10 lead.

“I thought our defense really wore them down, and especially in the second quarter when we went on the (huge) run,” Sacred Heart coach Shawn Bestgen said. “We were able to create some turnovers and finish off the half strong.”

Hohne came out of the locker room with one of her two treys on the night and Fischer scored in the paint to extend the run to 16 unanswered. Hohne scored seven of her 13 in the frame to help the Gremlins extend the lead to 40-21 headed into the fourth quarter, and the lead never dipped below double digits as Stone poured in five points in the final eight minutes of play.

Brittney Millsap paced Smithton with 13 points.