Isabelle Niederst's nearly perfect half helps lead Elyria Catholic to win over Bishop Hartey
CANTON, Ohio - With just about two minutes left in the third quarter of a 51-35 win over Bishop Hartley on Friday, Elyria Catholic's Isabelle Niederst got a breather.
It was well deserved, as the senior guard had a hand in every point for the Panthers in the quarter, with six points and three assists to help Elyria Catholic turn a five-point halftime lead into as big as 13 in the third quarter.
"I just really tried to take care of the ball," Niederst said. "If I can get downhill, I know that I can score but obviously they're going to try and double down on me sometimes. So I just kick it out to the corners and I know we got a lot of great shooters on our team."
The second half started with an assist from Niederst to Neveah Sawyer for a 3-pointer, the second time in the game that Niederst had found an open shooter for a 3-pointer instead of taking a contested shot herself.
"She's gonna get to the hoop," Elyria Catholic head coach Eric Rothgery said. "Once we got a little bit of a lead, they started tightening up their defense, which created a little bit of space for her."
And then after a Hartley miss, the 5-foot-9 senior grabbed the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Hartley scored the next four points before Niederst again created for a teammate, this time finding an open Camara Ogletree for a 3-pointer.
"That just comes naturally and that's just how our offense flows, our motion offense," Niederst said. "We really just like to get downhill and kick it out. If you can get downhill, take the shot, obviously, but if you can't, pass it to the open person."
On the next offensive possession, Niederst followed up a missed shot by a teammate with a put back for two points and then assisted on a basket to Juliana Cerny and finished off her quarter with a pair of free throws before resting for the final two minutes.
Elyria Catholic's Isabelle Niederst passes off to a teammate during Frdiay's win over Bishop hartley. Photo credit: Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
She came back in for the fourth quarter and again controlled the tempo of the game, assisting on a basket to Ogletree and then again going coast-to-coast for a score after a missed free throw by Hartley.
"We know we were up by a little bit but we just wanted to keep our lead, stay aggressive and wanted to score," Niederst said of the second half mentality. "I think it's really just an attack mindset for all of us. And we're all aggressive players. So really, just when you put all of us together, we're good together."
She had 10 points, four assists and four rebounds in the second half alone and finished the day with a game-high 19 points.
"Obviously, she's a really good player," Rothgery said. "She is smart and I think she's been a little tired coming into now but I think she's in a good place. She is calm, cool and collected."
The Tiffin University commit admitted to being a little tired over the last couple of days after having time off for the Christmas holiday week but also said she felt better Friday than she did Thursday in a loss to Centerville.
She didn't mind watching the last two minutes of the third quarter from the bench, however.
"That was a nice break," Niederst joked.
