Bishop Eustace girls eliminate Paul VI

She's the top scorer on the team, an aggressive defender, and one of the most talented players in South Jersey.

But first and foremost, Bishop Eustace senior Hope Phillips is a leader.

So when Crusaders coach Jackie Barnes challenged her team to "attack the inside" during halftime of a tight game against rival Paul VI on Tuesday night in the first round of the South Jersey Non-Public A girls' basketball tournament, Phillips took it personally.

The 6-foot-2 center scored eight points in a decisive third quarter, and the Crusaders rolled to a 51-41 home win.

"I feel like I'm the senior of this team, I have the most experience, and I like having that role as a leader," said Phillips, who finished with a game-high 18 points.

"I want my teammates to feel like they can come to me and trust that I'm going to do what's best for this team."

Bishop Eustace (11-13) moves on to the unenviable task of playing No. 1 seed St. John Vianney (22-2) on Thursday night. St. John Vianney was the runner-up in last year's Tournament of Champions and is one of the most highly ranked teams in the state.

After the game, the Crusaders weren't shying away from the fact that they will be huge underdogs Thursday night.

"Our mind-set is that there's nothing to lose and everything to gain," Barnes said, "It's one of those things where nobody in the world, except the people in this room, believe that we can do it.

"But the people in the room believe we can do it, and a lot of times, that's all that matters. So that's how we're going to approach it."

Regardless of the road that lies ahead, the Crusaders can take solace in the fact that they beat Paul VI, their Olympic National rival, for the third time this season.

"It's tough to beat any team three times in one season," Phillips said. "And we were expecting a fight tonight. No one wants to lose to their rival three times in one season."

Alyssa Cirucci added 12 points for the Crusaders. Carla Chmielewski netted 14 points for Paul VI (9-16), including three three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Stephanie McDonnell also scored 14 for the Eagles.

McDonnell connected on a putback at the first-half buzzer and scored the first basket in the second half to put Paul VI ahead by 22-21.

The rest of the quarter, though, belonged to Bishop Eustace.

After McDonnell's basket, the Crusaders scored 19 of the next 22 points, building a lead as large as 15 with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game.

During that span, the Crusaders did exactly as their coach instructed them to do at halftime: attack the paint.

With Paul VI center Adrienne Small saddled with three fouls in the first half, Bishop Eustace had little trouble driving to the lane both with its guards and through set plays designed for Phillips.

"It was just an awesome win," Phillips said. "It was an intense game. It was my last time on my home court, my last time wearing my white jersey. So it was exciting."

Paul VI 13 7 5 16 – 41

Bishop Eustace 11 10 18 12 – 51

P: Carla Chmielewski 14, Morgan Harris 6, Stephanie McDonnell 14, Nicki Morreale 1, Adrienne Small 6.

BE: Hope Phillips 18, Carli Marano 6, Alyssa Cirucci 12, Taylor Hudspeth 9, Kelly Quinn 6.