Tatiana Dorner drives to the basket against Allentown.  Photo by Amanda “The Homeowner” Ruch

By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com

Dec. 17: Natalie Mehl broke down her opening-night performance in totally simplistic terms.

“I felt my shot kept going in, so I kept taking the shots,” Mehl said. “I was happy they were going in.”

It gets no more basic – and truthful – than that.

The sophomore shot 5-for-7, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, for a team-high 14 points in Steinert’s 62-56 loss to visiting Allentown on Friday, Dec. 16. The sophomore’s shooting, combined with some late transition lay-ups by Tatiana Dorner thanks to good defensive pressure, helped the Spartans scare the Redbirds after falling behind 14-0.

Carli Backlund of Steinert drives to the basket. Photo by Amanda Ruch.

Steinert still trailed 34-25 at halftime and it could have been worse had Mehl not hit a three at the buzzer.

“It was déjà vu of last year’s game against them, when they came out 12-0 in the first five minutes,” Mehl said. “We just came out a little weak. We have to come back stronger, start the game strong.

“At halftime we went to the team room. (Coach Kristin) Jacobs said we need to play with head, heart and hustle and we needed to put it all out on the line. We did that, we just couldn’t come up with the win.”

With Mehl on the bench for most of the third quarter, Steinert still got within 43-42 at quarter’s end when Mehl and Cassidy Wood hit late buckets.

Cassidy Wood lets one fly against Allentown. Photo by Amanda Ruch.

Steinert had the ball to start the fourth quarter with a chance to take their first lead, but turned it over on two straight possessions as Allentown went up 47-42.

“Our spirits would have been high if we could have gotten ahead,” Mehl said. “We could have done a lot.”

Steinert kept it close throughout the quarter but could not overcome the talented Ryan Weise, who scored eight of her 25 points in the final eight minutes. Weise not only showed her expected long-range shooting, but also penetrated frequently and made 10 foul shots.

“We’re gonna go back to practice, work on ending the game strong, and hopefully come out with the win next time,” Mehl said.

“We can’t go down 14-0,” Jacobs said. “The game is a series of ebbs and flows. We have to take what we did, learn from the things we did right and the things we need to improve on.”
Mehl felt there were enough of both – good things and bad things – to take from.

“We did a great job, we worked together as a team,” she said. “We were just a little sloppy on the boards and couldn’t get all our passes down. But I’m proud of us, I think we worked hard, we came together in the end but couldn’t pull through.”

Carli Backlund finished with nine points for the Spartans, while Dorner had eight, Erika Golik seven, Wood six and Morgan Comfort five points and eight rebounds.

“I have 10 kids on my varsity team, I feel confident in all of them,” Jacobs said. “I’m looking for every single one of them to contribute what they can. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Morgan Comfort moves around an Allentown defender. Photo by Amanda Ruch.

Mehl became a surprise contributor as a freshman, when she made the varsity and averaged over 6 points per game while hitting 14 3-pointers. On a team that needs a perimeter shooter, she fits the bill nicely.

“Last year I was glad I had such a great team,” Mehl said. “I had a bunch of seniors to help me and coach me through the year, and I had wonderful coaches. This year I want to come back even stronger. Me and Leila (Collazo) played AAU together, we’ve been working hard together.”

Jacobs said she is just looking for Mehl “to maintain her confidence.”

“If we can find her along those seams, it’s definitely pro-active for us,” the coach continued. “Allentown showed tonight a three can change the complexion of the game.”

Allentown coaches and players help support James “The Mayor” Angiolino’s “Joey’s Little Angels” program at Friday night’s game against Steinert. Photo by Amanda Ruch.

Allentown also showed a great amount of class, as they brought some toys to support James “The Mayor” Angiolino’s “Joey’s Little Angels” Toy Drive.

“We really appreciated that,” Jacobs said. “That was a big help.”