Home is sweet for St. Frances girls basketball

St. Frances girls basketball team wanted to make a statement in its home debut Wednesday.

Mission accomplished. The third-ranked Panthers imposed their will early, and often, en route to a 69-32 victory over No. 8 Mercy in an IAAM A Conference match in East Baltimore. Senior forward Ande’a Cherisier finished with 14 points and six rebounds for St. Frances (8-2 overall, 2-0 IAAM A), and Mone’t Edwards added 11.

The Panthers went on a 21-4 closing first quarter run to pave the way in their first home game since last February’s IAAM A semifinals. St. Frances played its first nine games on the road, including the Boo Williams Christmas Classic in Norfolk, Virginia last week.

“We played in a lot of neutral sites and other home courts, and I said after practice yesterday that we needed to be excited about playing at home,” said St. Frances coach Jerome Shelton. “I think that emotion and energy level really carried us.”

“Coach told us to come out with intensity,” said Panthers senior point guard Kameryn Dorsey. “They’re new to the A Conference, we just wanted to give them a welcome to the A Conference.”

It was a rude welcome by the longtime IAAM A stalwarts, who had 10 players score Wednesday. Senior Kimmya Hicks added nine points, three rebounds and two steals while Dorsey filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Cherisier, who will play for the University of Delaware next season, Hicks and Dorsey are the only seniors on a roster that features a combined nine freshmen and sophomores.

Shelton put the Panthers’ “future” to the test in the opening weeks, playing in events in Virginia, Prince George’s County and Pennsylvania as well as a road match at Washington Catholic Athletic Conference powerhouse St. John’s (D.C.).

“The way I schedule is intentional and with this team even more so because I wanted them to be in situations where they’re in unfriendly confines and did have to shoot on a different basket and play against the crowd,” said Shelton.

“We’re telling our players intentionally that it’s a focus thing and not a you thing because I don’t want crutches,” added Shelton. “These younger players are very good, but we tell them that even if you’re playing against upperclassmen that doesn’t make them better just because they’re upperclassmen. I’m trying to get our younger players in that frame of mind.”

The Panthers were in the right mindset Wednesday, limiting Mercy to one shot and attacking the basket on the other end. Cheriser posted 11 points in the opening frame including a 3-pointer as the hosts led 25-8.

St. Frances upped the lead to 39-18 late in the first half after Hicks, off a pass from Dorsey, dropped a 3-pointer from the corner. Freshman Dahni Suggs’ rebound and basket made it 56-21 late in the third quarter.

Mercy (8-4, 1-1 IAAM A) was nearly shutout in the third quarter, scoring its first points with 30.9 seconds remaining.

“We just wanted it more,” said Cheriser. “We try to keep teams under 40 points and we [almost] kept them under 30.”

Sophomore guard Milan Brown led Mercy with 12 points and six rebounds, and Myah Hazelton had five points, five rebounds and five blocked shots.

After winning its IAAM A debut last month (defeating Archbishop Spalding), Mercy ran head first into the league’s most dominant program Wednesday.

“Not good enough,” said Magic coach George Panateogou, whose team hosts reigning league champ and top-ranked McDonogh Friday. “They shot the ball much better than what we saw on film, you got to give them credit for that. Their transition offense was great and their defense limited us to ‘struggle city.’”

St. Frances is back on the road at Prince George’s County’s Riverdale Baptist Friday before welcoming IAAM A rival Roland Park Country Wednesday. Next Friday, the Panthers play at McDonogh in a rematch of last year’s IAAM A championship game.

Shelton, whose team’s five-year title reign ended last year, wants to see his squad “tighten up a little more defensively.”

“I want us to be a better rebounding team, I felt we rebounded well today,” said Shelton. “The rebounding, the ball sharing on offense and bench production is very important for us if we’re going to get back to Harford Community College.”

NO. 3 ST. FRANCES 69, NO. 8 MERCY 32

Mercy - Brown 12, Hazelton 5, Hewitt 4, Liszt 3, Stanchowski 3, Logan 2. Totals 10 6-12 32.

St. Frances - Cherisier 15, Edwards 11, Hicks 9, Osby 9, Sutton 9, Suggs 5, Dorsey 4, Rurka 3, Mbai 2. Totals 24 11-13 69.

Mercy 8 13 5 6 - 32

St. Frances 25 14 17 13 - 69