Katie Friel goes into every game seeking frustration. As odd as it sounds, that’s what brings out the best in the Poly Prep sophomore guard.
“Frustration is a great motivator,” she said. “It’s never with my team. It’s either with myself or the refs. When I get that way, my shot is on more, I run faster, I’m more agile on defense.”
Friel was feeling that way in the fourth quarter against Horace Mann. The Lions had just cut the Blue Devils’ lead to five points and Friel was struggling offensively. But on Poly Prep’s next possession with 3:56 left, she caught the ball at the top of the key, turned toward the basket and drained a dagger 3-pointer in what would eventually be a 67-52 win against Horace Mann in Ivy League girls basketball Wednesday in Riverdale.
“Katie has been knocking down 3s like no other,” Poly Prep junior center Lily Donahue said. “She always looks calm.”
Friel finished with 19 points, but only seven of those came after halftime. It didn’t matter. She made the big shot when it counted. It halted a personal, 5-0 run by Maddy Gordon (17 points). Gordon’s 3-point play with 4:20 left got Horace Mann (8-2, 3-2 Ivy) within 55-50, but Friel’s 3-pointer sparked an 8-0, game-sealing run by Poly Prep (12-1, 5-0).
“That big 3 really got them going,” Mann coach Edwin Santiago said.
And the victory puts Poly Prep in sole possession of first place in the Ivy League after previously undefeated Dalton fell to Fieldston on Wednesday. That wasn’t the best thing Blue Devils coach Mike Junsch took out of the win, though. He lauded his players for coming back from two separate first-half deficits.
“This team’s got character,” he said.
Junsch said he urged his players to be more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball in the second half. Mann shot extremely well from the field before the break and not nearly as well after when the Blue Devils outscored them, 32-18.
“I told them, ‘You’re the team to beat in this league – get in their face,’” Junsch said.
Poly might definitely be the team to beat, especially with the way Donahue, its 6-foot-4 center, played. She had a career-high 17 points and showed flashes of offensive prowess, putting back offensive rebounds and scoring with her back to the basket.
“She played her best game,” Junsch said of Donahue, who sat out last year after transferring from The Lawrenceville School (N.J.). “She usually doesn’t make those.”
Added Santiago: “We had no answer for the big girl.”
And nothing for Friel’s big 3 either. Cherkira Lashley (10 points) made five free throws down the stretch to ensure the Poly victory. Junsch recalled a game earlier this against Fontbonne Hall when the Blue Devils were down late and Friel was out with an illness. She begged her way in and hit a jumper and made two free throws in a game Poly eventually won by two.
“That’s a quality in a player you can’t teach,” Junsch said.