Historical night for Williams

The Bishop Guilfoyle Lady Marauders made a statement.

Alli Williams did, too.

Unbeaten and the No. 1-ranked Class A team in the state, BG hosted diocesan rival and Class AA state-ranked Bishop McCort on Saturday night at the Pleasant Valley gym, and rolled to a 50-31 victory.

In the process, Williams, a junior, became the first underclassman and only the sixth Lady Marauder ever to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Surprisingly, the outcome was never in doubt. BG bolted to a 13-0 lead in the first five minutes, and led 15-5 after one quarter. The Marauders were on top 26-12 at the half, and 38-23 after three.

"We went to a real nice level tonight against a great basketball team," coach Mark Moschella said after his Lady Marauders improved to 17-0 overall and 8-0 in Section 1 of the Laurel Highlands Conference.

"I'm proud of the way we put four quarters of basketball together."

Williams scored her 1,000-point [20th on the night] at the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter. Williams went backdoor, received a nice pass from Rachel Rea, and banked in a layup to make it 44-23.

The BG faithful went wild, but play wasn't stopped until Williams was pulled with 1:55 remaining, and 22 points. Teammates and family members mobbed the 5-foot-11 junior, and presented her balloons, gifts and a sign commerating the accomplishment.

"It was embarrassing, with all the attention, but I'm pretty proud of myself," Williams said, "and I couldn't have done it without my teammates getting me the ball.

"It's a really good feeling."

Even though she entered the game with a chance to reach the milestone, Williams didn't appear distracted.

"I usually score about 20, so I just told myself not to lose focus, because the game was the most important thing," she said. "I just focused on my game, and didn't think about the points.

"We lost to them three times last year, so this was a big deal for us, and I thought we played awesome."

Moschella told the team to play its game, and not worry about whether Williams was going to reach the 1,000 mark.

"I told them to play, and if it happens, it happens," he said.

"Alli did a great job, and being the only junior in the history of this program to hit this milestone is one heckuva accomplishment."

Williams' teammates were happy to be part of the big night, too.

"Alli's a really good teammate," Shannon Hite said. "She's one of the leaders on the team, and if you ever need anything - on or off the court - she's there.

"I'm really happy she got it tonight."

The early deficit was too much for the Lady Crushers, according to coach John Hahn.

"I knew we were going to come out slow because this was the first time we played before this big of a crowd," Hahn said of the packed BG gym. "Hopefully, we can win our [section] of the Laurel Highlands, and play them again.

"This was a great atmosphere, and a great high school game," he said. "Williams is so strong, and we got caught one-on-one with her too many times."

Game notes: Tiffany Seasoltz scored 13 for BG. ... Sarah Pastorek led McCort with 11. ... Marauders host Cambria Heights on Tuesday.

BISHOP McCORT (31): Felton 2 0-2 4, Basile 1 2-4 5, Pastorek 4 3-4 11, Boyd 0 1-2 1, Buchan 3 0-0 6, Urban 0 0-0 0, McIntosh 0 0-0 0, Woznick 1 0-0 2, Amrhein 0 2-2 2. Totals - 11 8-14 31.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (50): Al. Williams 7 7-11 22, Hite 0 0-0 0, Seasoltz 6 1-2 13, Floyd 2 2-6 7, Rea 3 2-4 8, Brennan 0 0-0 0, Stayer 0 0-0 0, Livoti 0 0-0 0, Milliron 0 0-0 0, Am. Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 12-23 50.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop McCort 5 7 11 8 - 31

Bishop Guilfoyle15 11 12 12 - 50

3-point goals: McCort 1 (Basile); Guilfoyle 2 (Al. Williams, Floyd).

Officials: Mike Andrews, Tom Shea, Jack McDougal.

Records: McCort (12-4 overall, 7-1 LHAC Sect. 2); Guilfoyle (16-0, 8-0 LHAC Sect. 1).

JV: Bishop McCort, 42-36. High scorer-Kelsey Livoti, BG, 7.