By Don Ketchum

Their starting point guard was out with a sprained ankle and they had not practiced in the last four days after a trip to Oregon to play in a tournament.

But the Lady Knights of Phoenix St. Mary's still managed to prevail in convincing fashion on Tuesday night (Jan. 4), rolling to a 64-41 victory over visiting Chandler High.

St. Mary's had a solid performance in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler in the week before Christmas and then won the Nike Interstate Shootout in Portland, Ore., between Christmas and New Year's.

St. Mary's coach Curtis Ekmark gave his team about four days off to rest up.

The team came out and had four turnovers in the first minute or so as Chandler put on full-court pressure.

The fact that Chandler pressed didn't surprise Ekmark.

"It was the way we handled it,'' he said.

"I thought we were rusty out there. But you can always count on these girls and know they are going to compete. It is when your team is not playing its best ball that it finds ways to win, and we are happyt about that.''

St. Mary's (12-1) managed to build an 18-11 lead after the first quarter and went on a 13-0 run to begin the second to take control.

The Lady Knights ran the break well despite the absence of sophomore point guard Dominique Williams.

Williams' twin sister, Danielle, handled the ball some, as did Ekmark's daughter, Courtney, a freshman, and junior Shilpa Tummala.

The Lady Knights also passed the ball around the perimeter, looking for the high-percentage shot. Chandler always seemed to be a step behind.

St. Mary's hit six three-pointers, three by Ekmark, and had four players score in double figures, led by Ekmark's 15. Cortnee Walton scored 12, Tummala had 11 and Aliyah Dickson 10.

Chandler (10-4) was plagued by inaccuracy at the foul line. It missed 15 free throws.

Raven Anderson led the Wolves with nine points and Dezirae Elias had eight.