Sophie Anderson and Ryan Dubb each scored ten points, and Bella Marez added four as the falcons advanced to the Sweet 16 in the girls CYO basketball playoffs. The Falcons beat St. Francis Xavier 24-16 at Ramona Secondary School, trailing only when the Lancers scored the first two points of the game. This was a day after battling to win by seven over St. John the Baptist at Ramona. The Falcons will play at St. Mary’s academy next weekend against St. Benedict, with an Elite 8 trip on the line.

To beat St. Francis Xavier, the Falcons played a stifling man to man defense, forcing turnover after turnover, including plenty of traveling violations. The Falcons also pulled down considerably more rebounds than the Lancers, a category that is easier to win in when with a major hight advantage, and the best rebounders on the court.

The Falcons had plenty of assists, with assists on nine of the twelve made shots. Bella Marez assisted on four of Sophie Anderson’s five baskets, while Ryan Dubb assisted Anderson on her other shot. Betsy Holmes had three assists on Dubb’s scores, while Dubb drove in to score off of two other Holmes passes. Holmes also assisted on one of Marez’s scores, while Dubb received the other assist. Marez found Anderson open on two inbounds passes that Anderson easily scored on.

St. Francis Xavier’s main sources for points were free throws and breakaway layups. St. Philip scored all of their points running  their half-court offense.

The biggest lead of the game for the Falcons was ten, after a Sophie Anderson shot from a few feet from the basket with just under a minute left, giving St. Philip a 24-14 lead that would be whittled down a little by a pair of free throws by the Lancers with about 40 seconds left that capped off the scoring.

Boys Varsity

St. Philip’s Boys Varsity Basketball team closed in on an undefeated season with wins over rival St. Rita and St. Luke, and clinched a top-two finish. The St. Rita game was closer than expected, with a final score of 35-20. The Falcons then won a high scoring game against St. Luke, 59-34. The  game began close, but the Falcons pulled away as William Coontz, getting his first start, scored 13 first half points on his way to 23, among, if not the, highest totals by a single player in the red and black so far this season.

St. Rita came into the game without facing any of the teams above it in the standings, but still put up a good fight, forcing the Falcons to use their first-string players for most of the game. The Raiders held their hosts to their lowest score of the season, though the Raiders scored their fewest points of the season.

St. Luke scored its season high in points with 34, but the Falcons put up their highest score of their season with 59. On defense, the Lions put up the most points out of all of the host’s opponents, while the Falcons fell just short of the high of a Lions opponent. St. Luke bombarded threes, but the Falcons controlled most of the game inside the perimeter. St. Luke had one player with 23 points, with seven three-point shots, but had very little production besides him. William Coontz was the player of the game, hitting eleven shots, from all over the court, including a three. Coontz also had several rebounds, beating out larger St. Luke players in his quest for the ball. Raphael Navarro also scored eight points in his return from knee and foot injuries.

**Note: all stats are unofficial and may be slightly incorrect**