Defense, Livermore lead Nazareth girls past Easton, 51-34

FROM THE MORNING CALL

A monthlong stretch of game-postponing weather has left Nazareth with limited practice time for the final week of the regular season. Tinkering and adjusting will have to happen during games instead of between them.

The Blue Eagles met the challenge Monday to start their four-games-in-five-days odyssey. Troubled by Easton's pressure early, they flipped the script by harassing the Red Rovers into 19 percent shooting over the final three quarters.

Nazareth shot 54.8 percent over the same span to cruise to a 51-34 Lehigh Valley Conference girls basketball win. Erika Livermore again dominated inside, scoring 23 of her 25 points in the first three quarters to keep the Blue Eagles (15-3 overall, 9-2 LVC) a half-game ahead of Parkland (16-4, 9-3) in the LVC wild-card race. Nazareth also trails Northampton (15-3, 10-1) by one game in the North Division race, with the teams scheduled to meet Friday at Northampton

Nazareth cannot afford to worry about the Konkrete Kids yet. The Blue Eagles first must play Whitehall on Tuesday and Allen on Thursday. With one starter, Lennon Kramer (sprained ankle), already out of the lineup and several other players dinged, their endurance will be tested.

"We're excited," Livermore said. "Games are what we live for. This week is just one challenge at a time. That's what playing the game's all about. You want to be the best, and to be the best, you have to win every single game. That's what we plan on doing."

Nazareth took a positive first step by putting away an Easton team that needs one more league win to qualify for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs. The Red Rovers (6-13, 6-6) also remains in the hunt for the East Division title but slipped a half-game behind Bethlehem Catholic (10-9, 6-5) with Monday's loss.

Easton played a strong opening quarter and pushed out to an 11-6 lead before the Blue Eagles asserted their will. Livermore scored eight points during a 13-0 run that bridged the first two quarters. She finished the first half with 17 points and had 23 midway through the third quarter before her fourth foul sent her to the bench with her team up 37-25.

The Blue Eagles kept command without Livermore, outscoring Easton 8-2 to open a 45-27 lead. Morgan Calabrese scored four of her six points off the bench during that spurt.

Nazareth also received strong work from senior starters Kim Owens (four points, game-high 11 rebounds) and Caitlyn Gary (five points, game-high six assists). Gary's perimeter defense helped Nazareth limit Easton to just 13 points in the second half.

"I thought we did a heck of a job defensively," Nazareth coach Rich Bickert said. "We went back and played a little bit of a zone, which we don't play a whole lot of, but I thought it threw them out of sync a little bit. We played a hard zone and didn't just kind of walk through it, which I thought was big.

"We're down one starter as it is, so it's nice to see the bench come through. It's a long week."

Easton has a shorter week than Nazareth but one that brings greater urgency. The Red Rovers have to beat either Liberty on Tuesday or Bethlehem Catholic on Friday to qualify for districts.

Tat Thomas led Easton with eight points and eight rebounds Monday. Tiara Aziz added six points.

"Early foul trouble for us caused us to take a step back and not play as aggressively," Easton coach Heather Gaumer said. "They're a good team. They're fast. They're big. They do a nice job."

Nazareth will try to muster two more big efforts before renewing its rivalry with Northampton on Friday. Depending on how things break, the Blue Eagles and Konkrete Kids could play each other again in next week's LVC semifinals.

Nazareth has to get into the tournament first.

"If we get to that point," said Bickert, "We'll be overjoyed."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-basketball-girls-nazareth-0207-20110207,0,5183033.story