So far this season, Steiner’s vocal leadership has paid dividends for the Fire. This included Friday, as Steiner had a team-high 17 points and led a stout Holy Family Catholic defense as the Fire defeated New Prague 61-46 at Holy Family Catholic High School.

Holy Family Catholic had revenge on its mind heading into Friday. The Fire, ranked No. 5 in Class 2A by Minnesota Basketball News, suffered a 60-50 loss in New Prague on Jan. 18. The Fire’s focus, then, heading into the season’s second meeting was to slow down the Trojans’ offense, which scored 37 second-half points in the January game.

“We wanted to work on our help-side defense in the post,” Steiner said. “If we could shut down No. 35, we could be successful.”

That No. 35 is New Prague (12-11, 6-2) junior forward Emily Russo, who came into Friday’s game averaging a team-best 16.8 points per game and tallied 14 against Holy Family Catholic back in January.

The Fire (17-4, 6-2) accomplished their goal of slowing down Russo on Friday, holding her to nine points, including a mere three points in the second half. Holy Family Catholic senior forward Julia Geurs had the task of defending Russo and succeeded for the most part. Geurs finished the game with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Aside from slowing down Russo, Steiner made life difficult for New Prague. She was at the top of the Fire’s 1-2-2 zone defense. Her pressure caused the Trojan guards to look uncomfortable at times.

“(Steiner) is our horse,” said Fire coach Adrian Turner. “She’s always the most vocal and always brings the energy.”

Russo’s struggles could be attributed to foul trouble through most the game. Steiner and Geurs weren’t afraid to go to the hoop and draw a foul.

“We like to be moving and get our posts involved,” Steiner said. “That can help our shooters. They’ve been good all season.”

With the win, its sixth straight, Holy Family Catholic is now tied atop the Wright County Conference East standings with New Prague. The last time the Fire suffered a loss was to New Prague, a game Turner and Steiner said was a wake-up call.

“It was a chance for us to take a step back,” Steiner said. “We wanted to do what we did best.”

With Holy Family Catholic considered a top-tier team in Class 2A, the Fire will be considered favorites to get to Target Center when the postseason begins. If Holy Family Catholic does that, it will be on the back of players like Steiner.

“The senior leadership on this team trickles throughout the group,” Turner said. “She lights the fire to the spark.”