At home in Hannibal

A rare sound was heard erupting from the Hannibal Lady Pirates’ locker room in Korf Gymnasium Thursday night – a victory cry.
After a tough first half of the season that saw a one-win December and just two wins in all, the Hannibal Lady Pirates burst into their first home game of 2009 with an 48-28 win over the Marshall Lady Owls.
For the girls of Hannibal, this is exactly the way they wanted to start things off things at Korf in 2009, said head coach Becky Monachino.
“It feels phenomenal,” she said. “What makes it feel even better is that the kids are thriving off of it. ”
Defense was the name of the game right out of the gates, as the Lady Pirates were able to hold their opponents to single digit quarters in the first half.
With the pressure off, the Lady Pirates were able to shine offensively, racking up 29 points, a feat that they have only been able to exceed once all season, against Western in the last game of 2008.
Chelsea Reutenauer led the drive to pad the Pirates’ margin with 10 points in the first two quarters. Reutenauer would go on to come in as Hannibal’s top scorer on the night with 12 points.
Monachino said that Ruetenauer’s performance did not come as a surprise to her.
“I can always count on Chelsea,” Monachino said. “I think, with a new system, she’s not as confident with her shooting as she has been in past. … But hopefully, she’s gaining confidence in the new system.”
And while sinking the baskets were essential to this feat, Monachino said it was the defense that really allowed for such success on the Lady Pirates’ half of the court.
“I always ask (the team) to run in transition and let their defense springboard their offense, and that is exactly what happened tonight,” she said.
With halftime behind them, the Lady Pirates continued their defensive lockdown, allowing only six points in the third quarter, which Hannibal’s Katelyn Ferguson said was an improvement for her team.
“Usually, our third quarter is the worst, but I think we did a really good job tonight,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson ended up notching 10 points for the Lady Pirates to earn second place in the scoring contest for her team. Monachino said her success is something that will pay off down the road.
“We hope Katelyn will really excel,” Monachino said. “I told her, even in summer camp, ‘You are going to be taking over this program after these seniors are gone. You’ve got to start taking some responsibility.’ And that’s why she finished the game with those underclassmen – because she is going to be the floor leader, the quarterback.”
Along with improving their record to 3-11, Hannibal also earned the first conference win of the season. Ferguson said she hoped Thursday night’s win would be something she and the rest of the team could build off of, starting Monday night in their game against Troy-Buchanan.
“I think this (win) makes us want to get out there and get things done and win even more,” Ferguson said.