Stieber breaks 3-point record in Monroeville win

NORWALK — Grace Stieber had an idea. But the Monroeville senior was as surprised as anyone when the Eagles' game against St. Paul was stopped after she made a 3-pointer with 5:57 left in the second quarter. With her second 3 in a 73-second span, Stieber made her 98th career triple to break the program record held by Elizabeth Tyler (97). Stieber's two straight 3s also came during a 17-0 scoring run as Monroeville pulled away from the host Flyers in a 72-46 win Thursday in a Firelands Conference game inside Harvey Keller Gymnasium. The Eagles improved to 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the FC with the win, while the Flyers fell to 1-12 (0-7). "It's very special to me and it's always been a personal goal of mine since my freshman year when I was getting varsity time," Stieber said after she scored 16 points in the win. "Shooting three's was kind of always my thing when I broke in back then, so it's very special to do that — especially against our rival team. "I knew I was somewhat close (to the record), but I didn't know it was tonight. I think we have the ability to have a great rest of the season. We still have the opportunity to do great things." For the first six-plus minutes, the game was back-and-forth. St. Paul's Annie Friend opened the scoring in the game with a 3-pointer at the 6:12 mark of the first quarter. It was tied at 5-5 when Aubrie Bogard gave the Flyers a 7-5 lead at the 4:13 mark with a short jumper in the lane. Tied at 10-10, Friend scored on a baseline jumper for the Flyers to put them ahead 12-10 with 2:10 left in the quarter. But from there, the Eagles took over. Julia White tied the game, then Grace Bohn made a 3 with a minute left in the quarter, then White followed her after a turnover with a layup and scored for a 17-12 lead. To open the second quarter, Stieber then made two straight 3s to break the record — and give the Eagles a commanding 25-12 lead at the 5:57 mark. White made two free throws to then cap a 17-0 scoring run for a 27-12 lead with 5:13 left in the half. Bogard made two free throws to snap a 5:30 scoring drought for St. Paul, but it didn't stop the Eagles. White made another basket in the lane, then Gabi Cullen scored twice in a row — the last with 14.4 seconds left — to push the lead to 38-21 at halftime. "St. Paul came out and played tough, so give them credit for being ready to play," Monroeville coach Ryan Bohn said. "Our girls started knocking shots down and played very unselfish team basketball. Offensively, that's gotta be our strongest game of the year." Bohn said Stieber has been a cornerstone player for him since he took over as coach of the Eagles last season. "It's a great accomplishment for Grace," he said. "What she has done over her four years in this program and breaking a Hall of Famers record is quite an accomplishment. We're very proud of her." First-year St. Paul coach Steve Frazee felt good about the first quarter. "I looked up and it was 12-12, and the next time I looked up at the scoreboard we were down double-digits," Frazee said. "It got away from us fast, and we can't allow runs like that. "Defensively we can't give up that many points, even though I know Monroeville is a great shooting team with some very good players. But we have to defend and move our feet better at that end. But they definitely made it hard with their ability to knock down shots." For St. Paul, Friend had 13 points and Ella Kalizewski had 13 points and seven rebounds. Bogard added nine points. "There were definitely some good things we'll see on the film from this game, but still, taking care of the basketball and turnovers is a big issue for us like always," Frazee said. "We've been rebounding the ball much better and the girls have been understanding what we want to do, but we just aren't where we need to be at the defensive end." Cullen paced the Eagles with 18 points and seven rebounds. Sophia Stieber scored 11 and White added 10 points for Monroeville. "After going through a tough injury with Grace Goodwin and a little bit of sickness, it was good to get back out and play the way we did tonight, especially offensively," Bohn said. "There are a few things we need to keep working on at the defensive end, but overall, very happy with the effort today." MONROEVILLE (9-4, 6-2) Grace Stieber 6-1—16, Taylor Scheid 2-0—5, Julia White 4-2—10, Abbie Bores 1-0—2, Sophia Stieber 3-3—11, Lilly Stein 2-0—5, Grace Bohn 2-0—5, Gabi Cullen 9-0—18. TOTALS 29-6—72 ST. PAUL (1-12, 0-7) Georgia Crabbs 1-1—3, Morgan Endsley 1-0—2, Peyton Barman 3-0—6, Annie Friend 4-1—13, Jenny Schwan 0-2—2, Aubrie Bogard 3-3—9, Ella Kalizewski 4-3—11. TOTALS 16-10—46 Monroeville 17 21 17 17 — 72 St. Paul 12 9 7 18 — 46 Three-point goals: Monroeville 8 (G. Stieber 3, S. Stieber 2, Scheid, Stein, Bohn); St. Paul 4 (Friend 4)