Brennan provides spark for Holy Trinity

PHILADELPHIA - Alyson Brennan hasn't been very aggressive on offense this season - her 10 points over the last four games entering Saturday reflected that. She was instructed to shoot more and heeded the advice with positive results.

The junior forward scored a season-high 13 points for Holy Trinity in a 61-49 win over the Springside School in the Philly / New York Challenge at Archbishop Ryan High School.

"I know I need to play a bigger role on offense," Brennan said. "We were in a good flow. I was getting good looks and my shot was falling."

Kristen Korzevinski had 13 points, seven assists, and four steals and Katie Poppe and Kelly Carey each scored 12 for Holy Trinity (6-4).

"That was big for us," Poppe said of Brennan. "She played a great game on both sides of the ball. When we're all on, we're tough to beat."

Added Holy Trinity coach John Lipani: "We need Brennan to be more aggressive. She gives us another weapon on offense. We want her to shoot more and she's beginning to do it."

It was a matchup of contrasting styles. Springside has three starters at least 6-foot tall; Holy Trinity lacks size but possesses several good shooters. The 6-1 Michelle Boggs hurt Holy Trinity in the first quarter with eight points, but Brennan scored four points to close the quarter and bring the Titans within 17-16.

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Katie Lavelle scored on a runner to open the second quarter and give Holy Trinity an 18-17 lead. The Titans controlled play in that quarter with excellent ball movement and by finding the open shooter. Brennan hit a three-pointer with 1:46 left and Poppe scored on a putback to give the Titans their biggest lead of the first half at 29-21.

Carey scored eight points in a 17-8 third quarter to give the Titans a 46-32 lead. The Titans' defense doubled Boggs (19 points) and limited her touches on offense.

"They were going to her every time in the first quarter and we needed to take that away," Brennan said. "Then we had mismatches on offense and took advantage of it."

Holy Trinity was considered by many in basketball circles to be one of the top teams on Long Island this season. It didn't look that way after a 2-4 start, but the Titans are beginning to show why they were pegged as a top-tier team.

"We lost a lot of pride in those losses," Poppe said. "We knew we were better than that."