By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

St. Charles took on a tough slate of games in the John Ehret tournament this week, going 0-3 against a field of bigger, established schools.

The Comets fell to Destrehan, East St. John and De La Salle at the tourney.

“Considering we played some really good teams at that Ehret tournament, I’m happy with our performance,” said SCC coach Kelly Cupit. “We’ve been moving the ball well early on and playing to our strengths. We lost one girl from last year, but we’re still very young with no seniors.”

Against East St. John (see ESJ story for breakdown) Emily Picciola led all scorers with 14 points. Heather Orillion chipped in six.

“I felt like we played pretty well early in that game, but then they got hot,” said Cupit.

The Comets hung around against Destrehan, never finding themselves out of the game. DHS led 11-7 after a quarter then 27-19 at halftime. The Wildcats led by 11 after three.

Kacie Braud scored 12 to lead SCC. Picciola and Orillion each added nine.

The De La Salle game was a defensive struggle the entire way, with only De La Salle offering a single quarter of double figure scoring (10, in the first). The Cavaliers came away with a 31-24 victory. DLS led 16-13 at half and 25-19 after three quarters.

“I’m proud of the way we’re defending,” said Cupit. “That part of it is coming together for us. We still need to build our endurance going forward.”

Picciola led SCC with 10 points. Jaelen Bryant scored five.

Cupit said that the level of competition was a plus, giving her a chance to evaluate her team’s strengths and weaknesses against some top flight competition.

“We went in understanding that if we come away with a win, we’re ecstatic,” she said.

“But if we play well, we come away with what we wanted. We play strong teams early, get a chance to see what we need to work on and look at. What’s working, what’s not, and adjust it.”