AFFTON – Cor Jesu sophomore Lauren Ortwerth knows she will not take teams by surprise this season.
The dynamic post player who can shoot the three with precision led the Chargers in scoring and rebounding as a freshman and forced opponents to scramble mid-game to find answers to contain her.
“I just have to realize I’m not going to have as many opportunities to score considering the year I had last year, so I’m just controlling what I can control while trying to make everyone around me look good,” Ortwerth said.
Ortwerth controlled the paint on Monday, scoring 22 points, collecting 18 rebounds and adding a pair of assists in leading Cor Jesu to a convincing 61-27 victory over Visitation in a Girls Independent Schools League contest.
Cor Jesu (4-0, 2-0) will seek its first 5-0 start to a season since 2009-10 when the Chargers travel to face Webster Groves on Tuesday.
“I told them that I wanted people to know us after our first five games,” Cor Jesu coach Jen Steinway said. “I think the word I used was ‘reverberate.’ I wanted the news to reverberate.”
The scoreboard reverberated soon after tipoff on Monday.
A smooth lefty layup in transition by senior Paige Dolrenry, a steal and layup by senior Kenzie Van Bree and a 13-foot floater by Ortwerth helped Cor Jesu build a 14-0 lead in the opening six minutes.
Excellent perimeter defense by the Chargers held a young Visitation team to 2-for-19 from three-point range through the first three quarters as long rebounds sent Cor Jesu away on fast break opportunities.
“We’re definitely a three-point shooting team, but sometimes we need to make better choices in terms of whether our three pointers are a frustration 3 or are they actually the 3 we’re looking for,” Visitation coach Stephanie Sparks said.
The game turned into a half-court contest in the second quarter and Cor Jesu looked to probe the active Visitation zone. The ball rarely touched the floor as quick ball movement, both side-to-side and inside-and-out, created driving lanes and high percentage shots for the Chargers.
Dolrenry opened the quarter with a wing 3, Genevieve Wynne and Katie West provided excellent minutes off the bench and senior Sophie Bellistri scored all seven of her points in the second quarter as Cor Jesu opened a 35-7 lead at halftime.
“We knew there were things to work on, especially against (Visitation),” Ortwerth said. “We haven’t really faced a zone, so trying out our new zone offense was a change, and it was fun to execute.”
Getting into that zone offense was made possible by the cool composure of freshman point guard Maggie Anstey, who faced full court pressure throughout the game and calmly wended her way up the court to start the Cor Jesu attack.
“It’s a big ask as a freshman, but she’s got the best on-court, basketball IQ. I think we’re going have some really good things with her at the point,” Steinway said.
Visitation (3-3, 0-2), which advanced to a Class 4 sectional last season, scored the first five points after halftime including a strong putback by junior Hannah Houseworth, who led the Vivettes with 10 points.
“We’re pretty much an entirely new team.” Sparks said. “Every game we’re learning, we’re adjusting, we’re still getting used to how we fit together as a team and how we’re going to approach other teams that we play.”
The combination of Ortwerth and Dolrenry on the same side of the floor proved to be a handful. The two combined to score on give-and-go’s, post feeds and seemed to know where the other’s shot would carom when it was off-target.
Dolrenry scored 11 points, added seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
It was a more subdued stat line for the senior Dolrenry, who scored a career-high 25 points in a win against Kirkwood Nov. 30 and then topped it four days later with a 26-point outburst against Lindbergh.
“I have a new outlook this year. I’ve decided I don’t want to play (basketball) in college, so I’m just trying to enjoy it,” Dolrenry said. “I’m playing more free, and I’m really enjoying the game that I fell in love with from the start.”
Cor Jesu is enjoying plenty of smiles to start the season, with an average margin of victory of 24.8 points per game and contributions up and down the lineup. While the early-season goal is to make some noise, the end-goal is to peak when the postseason arrives – a postseason that ended with a 42-33 loss to Jackson in the district championship game last season.
“We want that district back,” Ortwerth said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, we lost to a good team, but we know what we can accomplish.”
Steinway added, “We want to be playing our best basketball come the end the February. We tell them we want to get one percent better every day, and they’re really responding to that.”