LeJeune, Williams power Lady Pios past Kaplan

KAPLAN – The Notre Dame Lady Pios scored 30 points in the second and third quarters Friday and cruised to a 47-33 victory over Kaplan in a District 6-3A contest.
The Lady Pios improved to 12-7 overall and 2-0 in league play heading into Tuesday home contest against West St. Mary.
“It was really a good team effort tonight,” said Notre Dame coach Nolan Theriot. “Based on what they (Lady Pirates) were doing, we had some really good looks inside. They started out in a man (defense) and then they went to a zone and that really gave us the opportunity to get the ball to whoever we wanted to shoot.”
Early in the game, it was Madelyn Lejeune who had the hot hand for the Lady Pios. The senior forward scored all of Notre Dame’s nine points in the first quarter and she added nine more in the second frame. She finished the night with a game-high 21 points.
“Madelyn got a lot of open shots and, obviously, she’s going to knock them down when she gets them,” said Theriot. “They (Kaplan) were trying to pack it in and we had some kickouts to Madelyn and she just got hot.”
Freshman Alyssa Williams took over in the second half and scored 10 of her 12 points in the final two frames. She scored six points in the third quarter to help the Lady Pios push their lead to 39-26.
“A lot of Alyssa’s points came on offensive putbacks,” said Theriot. “That was a plus because we felt like with our guards shooting it, if she (Williams) could get in there and find a nose for the basketball, she could score some points.
“Tonight was huge for her. She’s starting to be more physical and I think she’s going to be more of a presence as the season goes on.”
The Lady Pios went on to outscore the Lady Pirates 8-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Hanna Esthay contributed eight points, six in the second half, in the victory. Hunter LeBlanc added four points and Elise LeBeouf finished with two.