

Senior staff writer
Roncalli’s girls basketball team began the new year the way it wanted to end 2015.
The 4A No. 4 Rebels fell to 4A No. 1 Homestead Dec. 30 in the Hoosier Invitational at Bankers Life Fieldhouse but rebounded Saturday to upend host Ben Davis 74-70.
Senior Lindsey Corsaro led the Rebels with 32 points against the Giants, hitting 17-of-18 free throws, with classmate Daesjah Ely scoring 15 points. Corsaro had a team-high 10 rebounds, and junior Paige Saylor came up with four steals.
Roncalli (14-2) led Ben Davis 42-32 at the half lead but trailed 54-51 before making a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Giants (14-2) for the second time this season.
The Rebels ended 2015 by colliding with 2014-15 state runner-up Homestead in Roncalli’s first girls game at the fieldhouse. The Spartans were the Rebels’ sixth foe this season to be ranked among the top six in their class.
Roncalli trailed most of the game but snared a hard-fought 47-46 lead on a pair of Corsaro free throws with six minutes left in the game.
The highly efficient Spartans (13-0) then went on a game-winning 10-0 run before Saylor hit her only 3-pointer with 90 seconds to go. The Spartans iced the game by hitting 4-of-4 free throws for a 60-52 victory.
Corsaro scored a game-high 30 points, and Ely added 16. Four Homestead players scored in double figures.
“We got a look at what we need to do better to be successful down the road,” Roncalli coach Stan Benge said. “We have a tough schedule and play a lot of very good teams and they are one of them. We have to pick it up.”
The Rebels fell behind 10-2 in the first three minutes but cut the lead to 34-29 by halftime on Corsaro’s driving lay-up. Roncalli opened the third quarter by missing its first eight shots and fell behind 39-31.
Corsaro remarked, “We didn’t play our best basketball, but we were right there with one of the best teams in the state. We wanted to come out and win, but we didn’t do what we needed to do.”
The 6-1 senior said Homestead was the most-disciplined team that Roncalli had faced in its first 15 games.
Roncalli was 20-of-50 from the field, with Corsaro going 11-of -22. Homestead outrebounded the Rebels 26-21.
