Suffolk News-Herald

&uot;I feel great, we’re playing some good basketball right now,&uot; said Nansemond-Suffolk Aca-demy girls basketball coach Kathleen Hotte on Friday night.

She should feel great, with her Lady Saints’ 46-28 victory over visiting Hampton Roads Academy, the Lady Saints have put together a five-game winning streak and climbed over the .500 mark to a 6-5 record.

The Lady Saints led right from the opening tip and never trailed.

NSA won the first possession of the game, and Lindsay Jarman quickly found Ellen Giermak in the lane for a lay in. NSA’s Parris Grieder proceeded to get a steal near half court as HRA attempted to break NSA’s press. The steal was turned into a Michelle Boucher lay up, and the Lady Saints led 4-0 20 seconds into the game.

Boucher added to the Lady Saints’ lead by draining two three-pointers within the final two minutes of the first quarter, putting NSA up 12-5 after one period.

Including the first few minutes of the second quarter, the Lady Saints used six assists to score their first six field goals; proof that the Lady Saints were moving the ball efficiently versus the Navigators’ half-court defense.

Jarman and Giermak scored the last two NSA buckets of the half, each coming via Princeton-like back cuts to the basket, and NSA held a 27-14 lead at the break.

Giermak and Boucher tallied 10 and nine points respectively in the half, but NSA also got important non-scoring contributions from Greider, who recorded four rebounds and three steals, all from the backcourt of Jarman and Courtney White, who combined for five assists in the first half.

NSA was held scoreless for the first 4:40 of the third quarter.

The Lady Saints remained strong defensively however, allowing only two Navigator points during the same time, so by the time NSA found some offense again, their sizeable lead was still intact.

Grieder scored on a rebound put back at the 3:20 mark of the third quarter to break the drought.

&uot;We’ve been playing some really solid defense [during the winning streak],&uot; said Hotte.

Boucher finished as NSA’s leading scorer, totaling 14 points to go with five boards and three steals.

Giermak finished with her 10 first half points.

Grieder was the leading rebounder with seven; and Jarman recorded five points, five assists, and five rebounds.

The Lady Saints held the Navigators to 20 percent shooting from the floor (8-for-40), and pitched a shutout (0-for-10) versus HRA’s three-point shooting.

The Lady Saints travel to Virginia Beach on Tuesday to take on Cape Henry; and then return home on Friday to play Catholic.