The rest of the PIAA Class A high school girls basketball playoff field received some bad news Saturday.
Halee Adams, an all-state player a year ago before having knee surgery that forced her to miss the first 14 games of the season, is close to being back to 100 percent.
Adams scored Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic's first 11 points and managed to outscore the Lady Marauders' opponent, Saegertown, by a point in BG's 45-18 win in the first round of the PIAA playoffs Saturday at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.
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Mirror photo by Patrick?Waksmunski
Bishop Guilfoyle’s Halee Adams scored 19 points, more than Saegertown’s entire team did during Saturday’s PIAA first-round game.
"As soon as I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, 'I'm feeling great today,'" Adams said. "The whole game, I felt different than any other game this season."
Fifteen of Adams' game-high 19 points came in the first half as the Lady Marauders carried a 23-8 lead into the locker room.
"Boy is she a player," Saegertown coach Steve Scott said regarding Adams. "If she's not 100 percent, she's dang close to it. She can play. She's not that tall, but she plays like she's 5-foot-11. She's a good athlete."
Adams was forced into more of a scoring role early when Bishop Guilfoyle's leading scorer for the season, Kayla Bates, exited after picking up her second foul. Bates returned in the second half to score all 13 of her points.
Alexis Craig, Brittany Boslet and Kate Meck filled in for Bates and helped the Lady Marauders force 27 Saegertown turnovers.
"Alexis Craig did a real nice job, and Kate Meck did a great job with her post defense," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Mark Moschella said. "Brittany Boslet shut down their perimeter guards. We got a lot of good minutes from our bench tonight."
Leading 26-12 early in the third quarter, Bishop Guilfoyle went on a 14-2 run that squashed any Lady Panther hopes of a comeback.
"They play good defense, and they're up in your face disrupting your offense," Scott said. "You don't see defense like that. They're the real deal. They're a good team."
Bishop Guilfoyle (24-2) will take on Fort Cherry Wednesday. The teams met last year in the PIAA quarterfinals, and the Lady Marauders won, 57-48.
"It's amazing to have Halee back," Bishop Guilfoyle's Courtney Becker said. "Her knee is as perfect as ever. It's great to have her out on the court with us, and we're going to need her."
Saegertown, the District 10 third-place finisher, ended the season at 17-9. Malorie Levis led the Lady Panthers with 10 points, but she was one of only three Saegertown players to score.
"You're always looking for maybe a little bit better shooting," Moschella said. "It would have been nice to see a couple better passes on the floor, but I thought overall we were pretty patient and did a nice job.
"I was really proud of our defensive effort. Kayla, until she got into foul trouble, and our bench did a real good job with pressure and got some good steals tonight."
SAEGERTOWN (18): Hanley 2 2-2 6, Levis 4 2-2 10, Dibartolomeo 1 0-0 2, Kapanick 0 0-0 0, Eckert 0 0-0 0, Shouey 0 0-0 0, Parker 0 0-0 0, Caldwell 0 0-0 0, Lilly 0 0-0 0. Totals - 7 4-4 18.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (45): Ehredt 2 0-0 4, H. Adams 7 5-5 19, Bates 6 0-0 13, Stessney 1 0-0 2, Becker 0 2-2 2, Boslet 0 0-0 0, Meck 1 1-2 3, Craig 1 0-0 2, Bender 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 8-9 45.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Saegertown2 6 6 4 - 18
Bishop Guilfoyle13 10 11 11 - 45
3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 1 (Bates).
Records: Saegertown (17-9); Bishop Guilfoyle (24-2).
Officials: Frank Garritano, Chris Garritano, Jim Harnish.
