Electric youth

With four freshmen among its top eight players, the Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic girls' basketball team no doubt will experience some ups and downs this season.

BG's "Kiddie Corps" took care of opening-night business, though, with a 56-29 victory over Penns Valley in the first round of the Lady Marauder Classic on Friday at the Pleasant Valley gym.

The reigning PIAA Class A state champs will face Northern Cambria, a 53-33 winner over Bishop McCort, in tonight's title game at 7:30 p.m.

"Normally everybody has butterflies, but I'm sure there were multiple butterflies with a lot of the young kids because the last time some of them were on the floor they were playing junior high basketball," BG coach Mark Moschella said.

"But, all in all, I thought our kids did a nice job."

While newcomers Halee Adams, Elyssa Ehredt, Kayla Bates and Devin Stessney learn the varsity ropes, BG will count on veterans Alli Williams, Kaleigh Floyd and Kelsey Livoti to carry the load.

Even though Williams, last year's Class A Player-of-the-Year, made only 7-of-17 free throws, she had an impressive stat sheet with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 steals and six assists.

Williams thought her new teammates handled the opening game well.

"They came out really strong tonight," Williams said. "Everyone had some jitters at the beginning, but they caught on and stepped up and they're going to be good."

Floyd, the other returning starter, chipped in with nine points, including seven in the first quarter when BG bolted to an 18-4 lead. The Marauders forced 11 PV turnovers in the first quarter.

"I thought Halee Adams did a nice job [defensively] on top against their point guard, and, for the most part, we did a good job on the boards," Moschella said.

Penns Valley closed to within nine (25-16) early in the third quarter but BG regrouped and won going away. Livoti scored all of her 11 points in the second half while Adams finished with a dozen in her varsity debut.

"This [tournament] really exposes all of your weaknesses right away," PV coach Karen McCaffery said. "I think we had 30 turnovers.

"But, this tournament always gets us ready for our league and to play Bishop Guilfoyle, one of the best teams in the state, with Alli Williams, one of the best players in the state, is good," McCaffery said.

Northern Cambria, which is expected to be one of BG's toughest Class A foes this season, got 17 points from Ariel Rocco, 15 from Breanna Kochinsky and 14 from Janae Dunchack in its win over Bishop McCort.

"It's going to be tough," BG's Williams said of tonight's title test against NC. "We'll have to play our best because it's going to be a dogfight."

PENNS VALLEY (29): Deardorff 0 0-2 0, Paolini 2 8-12 12, Andrews 3 3-6 9, Jordan 0 0-0 0, Packer 1 1-2 3, Holmes 0 0-0 0, Rupert 0 0-0 0, Welch 1 0-1 2, Hazel 0 3-4 3. Totals - 7 15-27 29.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE CATHOLIC (56): Williams 4 7-17 15, Floyd 4 0-0 9, Livoti 5 0-0 11, Adams 5 2-2 12, Ehredt 1 0-0 2, Bates 1 0-0 3, Wigman 0 0-0 0, Stessney 1 0-0 2, Milliron 0 0-1 0, Wolfe 0 0-0 0. Totals - 22 9-20 56.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penns Valley4 8 9 8 - 29

Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic18 7 22 9 - 56

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic 3 (Floyd, Livoti, Bates).

Records: Penns Valley (0-1); Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic (1-0).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Jack McDougal, Don Ciambotti.

NORTHERN CAMBRIA (53): Dunchack 3 8-9 14, Kochinsky 5 4-7 15, A. Rocco 8 1-2 17, J. Rocco 0 2-2 2, Sedlock 1 0-0 3, Stiles 1 0-0 2, Delfonso 0 0-0 0, Wolfe 0 0-0 0, Lechorchick 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 14-19 53.

BISHOP McCORT (33): Basile 3 1-1 7, Boyd 2 1-1 5, McIntosh 1 2-2 4, Woznick 2 0-0 5, Schultz 0 0-0 0,Spisak 2 2-3 6, Kegg 1 0-0 3, Sheridan 0 0-0 0, Swank 0 3-5 3, Oleksak 0 0-0 0, Perry 0 0-0 0, Bridges 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 9-12 33.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Northern Cambria 15 13 12 13 - 53

Bishop McCort 5 8 13 7 - 33

3-point goals: Northern Cambria 2 (Kochinsky, Sedlock); Bishop McCort 2 (Woznick, Kegg).

Records: Northern Cambria (1-0); Bishop McCort (0-1).

Officials: Sue Kovensky, Terri Piatek, Joe Bilka.