McCune scores 23, Berndt hits 5 treys as Culver beats Trinity Academy

Val T.

8 minutes ago

3 min read

Lady Cavs’ defense forces 33 turnovers

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Ava McCune Ashlynn Berndt

CULVER — Things are moving faster for the Culver girls basketball team.

The Culver girls basketball team scored 56 or more points three times in 24 games last year.

They have done it twice in two games so far this year.

Ava McCune scored 23 points, and Ashlynn Berndt added five 3-pointers and 15 points as Culver rolled to a 56-10 win over sectional rival Trinity Academy at John R. Nelson Gymnasium Saturday.

Culver started out in a fullcourt press and scored the first 20 points of the game. They jumped out to a 27-2 lead after one quarter before coach A.J. Neace called off the press. Culver forced 16 turnovers in the first quarter, and McCune and Berndt had nine points each.

Trinity Academy went the first 13 minutes without a field goal.

“I describe our defense as controlled chaos,” Culver coach A.J. Neace said. “So what you see, a lot of teams might think we just run around and go ragged, but that’s literally how we drill it. That’s how we want it done, and we want everything to be chaotic to where there’s no easy looks, no easy passes, no easy shots.”

Brooke Davis added eight points for Culver (2-0). Culver hit nine 3-pointers while the Lady Titans hit none.

The opening run started with a 3-pointer from Berndt. McCune had a 3-point play after a steal and layup. Andrzejewski then hit a 3.

Andrzejewski fed Davis in the post for a bucket. McCune got a layup off a Berndt steal. Davis picked a loose ball and converted a layup to make it 15-0. Berndt drilled a 3 on an inbounds play. Another Berndt steal in the backcourt led to another McCune layup and a foul.

McCune missed the free throw going for a 3-point play, but the lead was 20-0 less than five minutes into the game.

“Our goal is to start off strong, so we don’t have to have to work our way up to catch up to teams,” McCune said. “We wanted to pressure because we knew pressure would make them fall, and they would throw their passes, and we wouldn’t have to foul to get the ball. So really our pressure just made us win the way we did today.”

Haylie Parker had five points off the bench in the first half, converting a layup in transition off a McCune steal and assist and later hitting a 3.

By the time Charis Gabrielse scored on a putback for Trinity Academy’s first basket with 4:46 left in the half, the lead was 33-4.

McCune hit two more 3s in the second quarter. She outscored the entire Lady Totan team 17-4 in the first half.

“I really have been working on my jump shot,” McCune said. “So they have to contest me at the 3, and if they do, I can drive and get a layup either way. So my shooting has really just gotten better.”

Better perimeter shooting might be a trait of the team in general and not just McCune specifically. That could be seen as especially impressive given that Culver lost perhaps their top shooter in Brianna Schlemmer to graduation.

“I believe so,” Neace said. “We shot 31 percent today. Ash wasn’t really on it today. She’s feeling kind of under the weather, but feeling under the weather and still having 15 points is pretty good for me. But I think we’re shooting a lot better. … I think Ava McCune’s taken that next step and become a dominant scorer, not just in the fast break but as a shooter as well.”

Culver 56, Trinity Academy 10

TRINITY ACADEMY (10) (0-1)

Sagarsee 1 0-0 2, Skendzel 0 0-0 0, Drake 0 0-0 0, Gabrielse 1 2-3 4, Lee 1 0-0 2, Cory 0 0-0 0, Robinson 0 0-0 0, Richter 1 0-0 2, Brenner 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 4 2-3 10

CULVER (56) (2-0)

Ava McCune 10 12-2 23, Ashlynn Berndt 5 0-0 15, Eliana Andrzejewski 1 0-0 3, Brooke Davis 3 2-4 8, Savanna Harrington 1 0-0 2, Haylie Parker 2 0-0 5, Millie Grove 0 0-0 0, Zoey Zehner 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 22 3-6 56

Three-point field goals:

Trinity Academy 0,

Culver 9 (Berndt 5, McCune 2, Parker, Andrzejewski)

Total fouls: Trinity Academy 7, Culver 6

Turnovers: Trinity Academy 33, Culver 12

Score by quarters

Trinity Academy 2 2 4 2 – 10

Culver 27 15 7 7 – 56