WILMINGTON — Padua’s basketball team struggled to get any offense going in the first half, and Tatnall took advantage of its height advantage, pounding the ball inside time and again as the Hornets took a 37-25 decision on Jan. 26.
The Pandas worked the perimeter all night on offense, and in the first quarter they held the ball for more than a minute on two separate occasions. Padua, however, was not able to score any points after those lengthy possessions, and Tatnall’s bigs, Breionna Dodson and Emma Kirby, scored inside the paint twice each. Dodson added a pair of free throws. Natalia Frabizzio hit a three-point shot with a minute left in the first, and the Pandas trailed, 10-3, after one.
Dodson and Kirby, along with Kirby’s older sister, Sophie, provided all but one point of the Hornets’ offense in the first half. Guard Kali Clayton hit one free throw for the other point, and the defense of the visitors held the Pandas to four free throws. Tatnall led by 15 at the half.
Padua turned up the defense after halftime, causing several Hornets turnovers, and Frabizzio drained two more threes, but the Pandas still faced a steep climb heading into the fourth. They had some success with their full-court press, and Tatnall managed just one field goal in the final eight minutes to Padua’s four. Solid defense, plus some late field goals, cut the final deficit down to a dozen.
Frabizzio scored 13 to lead the Pandas, who fell to 0-6. They host Ursuline on Thursday night at 7:15 p.m.
Tatnall got 15 points from Dodson and 13 from Emma Kirby. The Hornets (2-2) begin a three-game homestand against Caravel on Friday at 4:15 p.m. against Caravel.
All photos by Mike Lang.
