St. Pius X withstands tough Athens Academy to win Christmas Classic
The St. Pius X Golden Lions girls basketball team wrapped up their weekend closing out their annual Christmas Classic tournament with a 59-53 win over the Athens Academy Spartans in the tournament championship.
With the win, the Golden Lions improved to 9-5 on the season and extended their current win streak to six in a row. And while the Golden Lions will be heading into the new year with momentum behind them, they found themselves having to fight off an Athens Academy team, who gave them all they could handle.
"They were resilient," St. Pius X head coach, Kyle Snipes, said following Monday's victory, as he praised the Spartans for their performance throughout the classic, including overcoming a double digit deficit in the semifinals of the tournament as well as taking a two-point lead over the Golden Lions in the third quarter of Monday's matchup after trailing by eight points.
"Next thing you know, we're down two," Snipes said as he recounted the multiple momentum swings between the two teams. And while the Golden Lions would enter the fourth quarter trailing by three points, as the Spartans led 41-38, a 12-9 run by St. Pius X would allow them to tie the game at 50 all with 1:51 remaining in the game.
"Sofia stepped up, A.B. hit a big three and it seems like so far this year it's always somebody different," Snipes continued, referring to Annabelle Sheridan's three-point basketball that would tie the game at 50 all and Sofia Pihera drawing a foul and going 2-2 at the free throw line to give the Golden Lions a 52-50 lead, which they would not relinquish.
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