Goodman sparks NC past Fairfield Christian

NEWARK - Dani Evans gave Andrea Goodman a pep talk Monday, and it certainly worked.

Goodman exploded for 12 third-quarter points to give the young Green Wave a big victory heading into postseason play.

"She was a little bummed at halftime because her shots weren't falling," said Evans, NC's senior point guard. "I went up to her and said, 'Andrea, we are going to need you. This is going to be a big half for you. You have to keep your head up,' and then she hit a couple good shots. It was great."

Newark Catholic (10-11) beat visiting Fairfield Christian (17-3) 46-41 in a nonleague game. Goodman finished with 18 points, scoring 11 consecutive NC points spanning the third and fourth quarters.

"It was encouraging and kind of helped me get back on track," Goodman said. "I think this is a confidence booster, beating a good team like them."

FCA, which continues to play without injured senior Makaleigh Dexter, made a spirited charge on a night little went the Knights' way. Evans hit a 3-pointer to give NC a 42-24 lead with 5:38 left in the game, and the Knights held the Green Wave without a field goal the rest of the way.

Freshman Celeste Mershimer was all over the court, keying a pressure defense that forced 27 turnovers, and she also led the way offensively, scoring 15 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. Ruthie Johnson's putback cut the deficit to 44-41 with 11 seconds left, but Evans made two free throws to seal it.

"Having a major injury, you have to refocus your team and a play a little differently," FCA coach Ben Bethel said. "We are struggling a little bit with that right now. We haven't had any easy breaks. We have had a really tough schedule the past three weeks."

Both teams struggled out of the gate as no points were scored during the final 4:09 of the first quarter. NC opened up 19-17 halftime lead thanks to its size advantage inside with freshman Samantha Basham and strong defense.

The Green Wave held the Knights to 27 percent shooting through three quarters, blocking and altering several shots.

"We embarrassed Newark Catholic on Saturday," NC coach Rob Smith said of a loss this past weekend to Granville. "Our effort was pathetic. We can't control the final score, but we can control our effort. Before the game (Monday), I said, 'I don't want you to go home tonight and think what if I had played a little bit harder.' That was the key. We executed for 3 1/2 quarters better than we have all season."

The third quarter belonged to Goodman. She scored off a back-door cut and then hit a 3 from the wing to extend the NC lead. FCA battled back to 26-24 before Goodman hit a 3, went coast to coast for a layup and then scored off a steal in quick succession during the final minute.

Goodman, one of Licking County's top scorers at better than 14 points per game, scored twice more to start the fourth quarter.

"Andrea Goodman might have played her best six minutes of basketball this season," said Smith, whose team hosts Granville Christian on Thursday in a game that was added to the schedule.

"A couple (Goodman) just freelanced and scored. It was good to see her smile."

Evans added 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Basham nine points and 11 rebounds. NC had a 40-30 rebounding edge.

Mershimer added seven rebounds and three assists for the Knights.

"We are going to learn from this game," Bethel said. "You can see our athleticism and when we get it going how good we can be. We are young, starting two freshmen, and we just have to get better. They did a good job defensively, but what's weird is it almost flipped when we started getting to the rim anytime we wanted. Sometimes, I don't understand it."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8556

Twitter: @newarkurt

Fairfield Christian 6-11-7-17

Newark Catholic 6-13-14-13

Fairfield Christian: 16-50 FG, 9-13 FT, 0-9 3pt. 30 Rebounds (Mershimer 7), 8 Assists (Mershimer 3), 19 Turnovers. Scoring: George 1 0-0 2, Keys 3 0-1 6, Grabans 3 0-0 6, Mershimer 7 7-8 21, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Dewese 1 0-0 2, Spurgus 0 2-4 2.

Newark Catholic: 17-44 FG, 9-19 FT, 3-12 3pt. (Goodman 2, Evans 1), 40 Rebounds (Basham 11), 7 Assists (Evans 3), 27 Turnovers. Scoring: Nowicki 0 0-1 0, Evans 5 4-4 15, Amore 1 0-0 2, Goodman 7 2-4 18, Basham 3 3-9 9, C. Crumrine 1 0-1 2.