“We played really good defense, and then, offensively, we played really well too,” NSA junior guard Jessica Pieroni said. “We ran through the plays, didn’t force anything, so that always helps.”

NSA head coach Kim Aston agreed.

“I thought on offense we executed well tonight,” she said. “We ran the offense correctly, different offenses every time down the floor. We had some kids that shot the ball well.”

Pieroni led her team with 18 points, making her last seven shots, and also had four rebounds, three assists and five steals.

After the Lady Titans scored off a three-pointer in the first quarter to pull within three, making it 8-5, the Lady Saints went on a 20-2 run that spanned the first and second quarters.

What made this possible was an impressive full-court press that helped produce 26 steals.

“Our coaches always tell us offense starts with defense,” NSA junior guard Macy Mears said.

“We did a nice job with the press,” Aston said. “We’ve been spending a lot of time working on that, trying to get better with it. We did not press a lot last year, but I think this year, we can get some points off pressing. And we’re not always just trying to get a steal off the press. We’re just trying to make them take a bad shot.”

Mears finished with 13 points, four assists and five steals.

“I thought Kaylor (Nash), defensively, had a good game,” Aston said.

Nash, the junior guard/forward, finished with five steals, as well, in addition to seven points and six rebounds. Freshman guard Harper Birdsong had 10 points, three assists and four steals.

The Lady Titans began the third quarter by scoring five points early, but by quarter’s end, NSA had resumed the rout.

“When we came out in the third quarter, we just were a little sloppy in the first three possessions,” Aston said.

Aston hopes her team (8-2, 0-0) continues its strong play and cleans up any residual errors today on the road against Williamsburg Christian.

“We’ve got to be ready,” she said. “They’re ranked second in the state. That’ll be a good test for us.”