O'Hara's Press Stifles St.Pius X 38-12
Source: The KC Star

The Celtics picked up a 38-12 West Central Conference road victory thanks in part to a press that kept the Warriors reeling for much of the first half.
“Our press is something that really gets us going,” O’Hara coach Mary Haggerty said. “We’ve really worked hard on it, and it’s important for us to jump out and use our speed and athleticism. We have a deep bench, and when we can get running, we feel like we can get out to an early lead.”
Midway through the first quarter, the Celtics had a 15-0 lead and could call off the press.
Perhaps the biggest reason that O’Hara presses is to get the ball to their pair of 6-foot-2 post players: Tori Hurtt and Hailey Houser.
“Even though they are tall, they can get up and down the court,” Haggerty said. “They aren’t traditional post players that are big and lanky and just lumber up and down the court. We try to use them to beat the other teams’ post players. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
On Thursday night, that clearly worked.
The duo combined for just 12 points, but their ability to misdirect shots helped contribute to a frigid shooting performance by Pius.
The Warriors didn’t score until 6 minutes, 20 seconds were left in the third quarter. In the first half, they were zero for 28 from the field.
For the Celtics, who never led by fewer than 20 after the first quarter, one of the biggest challenges was trying to maintain the same intensity that they had had early in the game for the final three quarters.
“Most of the time it’s not difficult,” said O’Hara’s Patrice Jackson, who finished with six points, all in the first quarter. “We try and keep our heads in the game and if we don’t, coach keeps our heads in the game.”
Hurtt and Alex Smith led the Celtics in scoring. Each had eight points. Hillary Torres had five for St. Pius.

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