Led by a memorable night by junior guard Rachel Steinhoff, New Haven picked up its first Four Rivers Conference girls basketball victory of the season Thursday at St. Clair High School.
Steinhoff reached 1,000 career points with an 18-point performance, leading the Lady Shamrocks to a 55-34 victory over the Lady Bulldogs.
“Rachel scored her 1,000th point on a good pass from Emily Kallmeyer as she was cutting down the lane,” said New Haven Head Coach Doug Peirick.
Basketball has been a way of life for Steinhoff, the daughter of Ray Steinhoff, New Haven’s athletic director and head boys basketball coach.
“Rachel is a really hard worker on offense. She works to get herself open or gets to the rim with her driving ability. She usually has the other team’s best defensive player guarding her, so it’s not easy for her night in and night out, but she usually finds a way to score and get the other players involved in our offense,” Peirick said. “It’s a really nice accomplishment for her. I’m really proud of her. It proves that hard work in the gym during the summer and during the season pays off.”
New Haven (14-10, 1-5) also received nine points from Kierstin Monzyk.
Karissa Hoffman and Sam Deason both scored 10 points for St. Clair (10-12, 1-5).
Allison Hinson finished the game with nine points. Kayla Klenke added four points. Hannah Molkenbur had one point.
“We did not play our game. We allowed New Haven to set the tempo and take us out of our comfort zone,” said St. Clair Head Coach Jena Carroll. “We played solid defense, but could not get things to fall or go our way on the offensive end.”
Leading 10-8 after one quarter, New Haven broke it open with a 16-3 run in the second quarter.
The Lady Shamrocks led 26-11 at halftime and 40-23 after three quarters.
The Lady Shamrocks are the top seed for the Class 2 District 4 Tournament at Crystal City. They open the event against eighth-seeded Kingston Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs are seeded sixth for the Class 4 District 9 Tournament at Pacific.
They open the event Feb. 26 against third-seeded Borgia.
