Tigers clamp down on Flyers

NORWALK – George Parks had to have a little talk.The Seneca East coach saw his squad take a 10-point lead into halftime, but the Tigers weren't playing all that well.Seneca East, led by Izzy Stockmaster, responded.The Tigers ripped off the first 15 points of the third quarter in less than three minutes, rolling to a 47-20 non-league win over St. Paul on Friday."We had a little heart-to-heart," said Parks of the halftime speech. "I have eight seniors and three juniors that have been with me for three or four years now. We told them the first two minutes of the second half is going to determine the game."We told them we could either end the game early or we're going to give them a chance where they think they can win this game. We responded well."Seneca East (3-0) came out on fire in the third quarter. Two scores from Stockmaster and one each from Alexa Snay, Luella Burkholder and Cami Lantz put the Tigers up 26-6.Stockmaster scored once again and added a three-point play as Seneca East pushed ahead 31-6.It was a lightning 10-0 run in just 2:46. All of a sudden, the Tigers were in control."We talked at the beginning of the year that we're going to win games with our defense," Parks said. "We can't control if the shot is going in, but you can control how hard you work. Defensively, I was really pleased with our effort. We've been struggling offensively the first couple games. We'll look at film and fix it."Both teams struggled to do anything offensively in the first quarter. Snay scored the only two buckets of the first six minutes of the game.Seneca East led 10-2 after one quarter following buckets from Stockmaster and Snay.St. Paul (1-2) couldn't get much going offensively, only attempting seven shots in the first half."The negative to that is we forced 20 turnovers in the first half, but we only had 16 points," said Parks of a 16-6 edge at the break. "That means we weren't looking to score or be as aggressive we should have been early on. I think a couple girls missed a couple shots or had a turnover and got hesitant."Raeleigh Friend led St. Paul with eight points while Deanna Vazquez scored five points."Those first three minutes of the third quarter just doomed us," St. Paul coach Steve Frazee said. "I told the girls we had to come out with energy. I was happy with our effort in the first half, but the three minute-span just killed us."Stockmaster and Snay each scored 11 points for Seneca East, which took 36 more shots than St. Paul."Our defense stands out along with our intensity and our leadership," Parks said. "The girls have been around. We just have to keep building on it. Last year, we started off really hot offensively. It carried us until we hit a lull."We weren't where we needed to be defensively and we lost a couple games we shouldn't have. Hopefully this year, our defense carries us more." Seneca East 47, Norwalk St. Paul 20SENECA EAST (3-0): Cami Lantz 1 0-0 2, Alexa Snay 5 1-7 11, Madi Smith 0 0-0 0, Izzy Stockmaster 5 1-1 11, Luella Burkholder 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Ritzler 1 0-0 3, Karli Foos 1 0-0 2, Jordan Enders 2 0-0 6, Lillian Burkholder 0 3-4 3, Julia Enders 1 2-2 4, Valerie Bordner 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 18-7-47.ST. PAUL (1-2): Morgan Endsley 1 0-1 2, Peyton Barman 0 0-0 0, Annie Friend 0 0-0 0, Aubrie Bogard 1 0-0 2, Ella Kalizewski 1 1-2 3, Raeleigh Friend 3 1-5 8, Deanna Vazquez 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 8-2-20Seneca East 10 6 22 9 — 47St. Paul 2 4 7 7 — 20Field goals: Seneca East 18-59; St. Paul 8-233-point goals: Seneca East 4 (Jo. Enders 2, Ritzler, Bordner); St. Paul 2 (R. Friend, Vazquez).Free throws: Seneca East 7-14; St. Paul 2-8Rebounds: Seneca East 32 (Snay 7); St. Paul 30 (Kalizewski 7)Turnovers: Seneca East 13; St. Paul 30