Lady Dolphins survive Lady Knights

Mount Carmel School stunned Marianas High School, but the Lady Dolphins recovered in time to escape with a 61-52 win in the varsity division of the 2008-2009 MISO Basketball League.

The Lady Knights caught the Dolphins off guard in the first half leading by as much as eight points, 27-19, but the Lady Dolphins worked their way back into the game midway in the third period and completed a come-from-behind win.

The victory was the third in a row for the Lady Dolphins, as they swept the first round of the two-round robin regular season.

The Lady Knights dropped to a 0-2 record after a second-half collapse, as the tandem of Nicole Lebria and Noelle Calvo could not help Mt. Carmel keep the lead in the last 16 minutes of play.

Lebria led the Lady Knights’ good start, drilling nine markers in the first period, which ended with Mt. Carmel ahead by five, 17-12.

The Lady Dolphins were held to four field goals in the first period, and could have taken the driver’s seat if not for their poor free throw shooting. MHS went only 3-for-10 from the foul line.

Lebria was still unstoppable in the second half, adding 10 more points, while Calvo and Ryanne Camacho chipped in three and two markers, respectively, to keep Mt. Carmel in front at halftime, 31-26.

There was a reversal of fortunes for MCS and MHS in the second half. The Lady Dolphins found their mark and outscored the Lady Knights in the third period, 20-7, to grab the upperhand, 46-38.

Jacque Wonenberg, who was scoreless in the first half, led the Dolphins’ uprising in the third period by firing eight points. She teamed up with Lalaine Pagarao, who nailed all her six markers in the third canto, while three other players made two points each.

The Dolphins never looked back from there, despite the efforts of Lebria and Calvo to bring the lead back to Mt. Carmel.

After the MHS took a 55-45 lead, with less than three minutes left in the fourth period, the Lady Knights launched a short 5-0 run on a Lebria triple and Calvo’s layup to cut the lead to five, 50-55, going into the last two minutes of the game.

But timely baskets from Wonenberg, Jeneque Benavente, and Tacliad foiled the Knights bid to regain the lead and hand MHS its first loss.

Tacliad top-scored for the Lady Dolphins with 15 points, while Wonenberg contributed 10, scoring in double figures for the second straight time. Wonenberg made 12 points in MHS’ 48-43 win over Kagman last week.

Lebria exploded for a season-high 36 points, but she had only Calvo helping her carried the load for the Knights. Calvo had eight points. Lebria and Calvo were the only two MCS players to make more than one field goal against MHS.