By Joie Johnson

The Saint Pius Lady Lions stormed into the Grady gym like unwanted house guests on Tuesday Feb. 7, rudely dispatching the host Lady Grey Knights, 60-18.

This game was over early.

Starting point guard freshman Diamond Porter got off to a rough start and was benched by Coach Kelly.  Power forward Junior Ectasee Crane, the Knights leading scorer for the night, scored the first few points of the game, but these points came few and far between as the visiting Lions were Golden on offense and on defense.

By the end of the first quarter, Grady trailed by 20 points. The referees’ calls rained down against the home team at the same rate as Pius baskets.  Several apparent Pius fouls went uncalled, and by halftime, the score was 37-6, a 31-point Pius advantage.

The Lady Knights mounted a relative comeback in the third quarter, but the mountain was simply too steep to climb. Junior Abrahana James could not convert several makeable shots, and sophomore Tenciah Dixon drove to the basket but failed to finish. The Lady Knight front line was outrebounded throughout the quarter, and the team’s energy and enthusiasm ebbed as the outcome become increasingly inevitable.

Senior Jahna Howard checked into the game in the fourth quarter and tried to win the quarter for the Knights. Howard rebounded well and converted her layups, but she did not do it alone. She had some assistance from her freshman teammate Jasmine Rich.  The two created some highlights for the Knights, but it was already too late in the game to alter an outcome that had been decided long ago.

With the loss the Knights record in Region 5-AAA fell to 1-7.  Pius improved its season mark to 21-3.