COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The St Francis DeSales Stallions and Bishop Ready Silver Knights met in a Central Catholic League clash on Thursday evening at Ready High School. Despite seven three pointers from senior Hope Orders, the powerhouse of Yatta Quinn and Bridget Womber was too much to handle. The two centers combined for 30 points en route to a 71-47 victory. 

The Silver Knights struck first on a layup by Caleigh Cheatham but soon, DeSales gained control of the tempo of the game. Celina Davis converted on a three point play and Jessica Salyer sank a three to give the Stallions a quick four point lead. Katherine Dortmund made a layup for Ready to cut the lead to two points and DeSales answered with a 7-0 run. 

Quinn and Womber scored four points and Jordyn Miller sank a three before the run was halted by a slew of scoring from Orders. The senior drained back-to-back-to-back threes to tie the game at 13 each. Dortmund answered with her own three to regain the lead for the Stallions for good. After one period, DeSales led 18-15. 

Orders picked up scoring again and started the quarter with a two to cut the lead to just one point, the closest the Silver Knights would get for the remainder of the game. During the middle of the second period, DeSales expanded their lead using a 15-3 run, fueled by eight points from Womber and Quinn. 

Ready refused to give up and at the end of the second, scored four straight points to cut the lead to single digits (34-26) before heading into halftime. Cheatham and Terriauna Daniels each scored a bucket. 

The Silver Knights continued their scoring efforts to begin the third quarter thanks to a layup from Cheatham. DeSales quickly stole the momentum and used a 10-2 run to take a 14 point lead. They saw baskets from Davis, Womber, Miller, and Jordyn Arnold during this game changing run. After a back and forth end to the quarter, DeSales maintained a 49-36 lead with one period to play.

The Stallions turned up the heat in the final period, starting on a 9-0 run thanks to continued domination by Womber and Quinn who scored seven of those points. Another three by Orders stopped the bleeding momentarily but DeSales responded with seven more points, pushing the lead to 26. Orders drained another three, her seventh of the game, but it was too little, too late for Ready. 

Quinn led DeSales in scoring with 16. Miller added 15 and Womber scored 14. Orders scored 23 in the loss for Ready and Cheatham added 10.

1. Offensive Rebounds: Offensive rebounds were undoubtedly the number one game changer for DeSales on Thursday. Quinn and Womber’s abilities to create extra possessions for the team is unmatched and Ready had no answer. If these two talented posts can begin to convert at a higher level from the free throw line, they have a real chance to make a long tournament run this season. 

2. Balanced Scoring: It becomes very difficult to defend a team who shares the scoring burden and DeSales did just that on Thursday. Quinn led with 16; Miller, 15; Womber, 14; Davis and Salyer, 8 each; Arnold, 5. This should bring them much success come tournament time. 

3. Pressure Defense: Throughout the game, and especially in the first half, DeSales forced a plethora of turnovers which led to easy baskets. Ready struggled to handle the pressure that the DeSales trapping 1-3-1 defense brought to the table. They played with a high level of intensity and it really paid off. 

4. Good Teammates: There are few things that bring me greater joy when watching basketball than teammates who love each other. That is the case with this DeSales team. It might go unnoticed by many but not on Thursday night. They help each other off the floor, encourage each other after mistakes and cheer each other on (loudly) from the bench. 

5. Deep Bench: DeSales played a total of 12 kids on Thursday and frequently rotated eight of them. This made a difference on the defensive end of the floor in order to keep up the intensity. Ready played with seven kids but struggled with foul trouble the whole game. 

MVP: Yatta Quinn (2024 / DeSales / Center), Bridget Womber (2024 / DeSales / Center)

Top Scorer: Hope Orders (2023 / Bishop Ready / Guard) - 23

Hustle Players: Yatta Quinn (2024 / DeSales / Center), Bridget Womber (2024 / DeSales / Center)