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EBENSBURG -- Despite watching his team start its season off with three wins in its first four games, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School girls basketball coach Bob Gongloff believes that the Lady Huskies are still striving for consistency.
Carroll's 65-51 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference non-section loss to diocesan rival Bishop McCort Friday night at the Bishop Carroll High School gymnasium illustrated Gongloff's point.
"They were the better team,'' Gongloff said of Bishop McCort, which improved to 2-1 overall after splitting two games this week in the Altoona Jaffa Shrine Tournament. "They played a complete game tonight, and we played in spurts.
"We've got to get our act right, and we've got to play 32 minutes,'' Gongloff said. "Until we can play a complete game, we're going to lose a lot.''
McCort got a game-high 26 points from Division I Saint Francis University-bound Haley Thomas and carried every quarter.
The Lady Crushers led, 35-28, at halftime and built a 41-29 lead early in the third quarter on a steal and layup by senior guard Mikayla Gibbons before Carroll responded with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 43-38.
Junior forward Emily Kutskel's putback bucket, combined with a 3-point field goal from junior Alyssa Martinazzi and a break-out basket by sophomore forward Anna Haigh, fueled the Carroll rally.
Then McCort coach John Hahn called a timeout, and it helped the Lady Crushers go on their own 9-4 run to close the third quarter with a 52-44 lead.
A Thomas field goal, coupled with a jumper by senior guard Anna Yingling, built the McCort lead back up to 47-38 before successive field goals by Martinazzi and Haigh brought Carroll back to within 47-42.
A pair of Thomas free throws made it 49-42, before Haigh hit a pair of free throws to pull Carroll back to within 49-44.
But Gibbons followed with a 3-pointer from the left corner to give McCort the 52-44 spread.
"(Carroll) made their little run, and I called a timeout because we needed to get our momentum,'' Hahn said. "After that timeout, we just got more patient on offense. We handled their run, and we came out and took care of business.''
McCort, which got 13 points from Gibbons, 12 from junior forward Clara Wilson, and 10 from Yingling, gained plenty of separation by scoring seven of the first nine points in the fourth quarter to widen its lead to 59-44 and win going away.
"I know what I'm getting from Haley every game,'' Hahn said of Thomas, a senior guard. "And as long as our three guards -- Thomas, Gibbons and Yingling -- are giving us 40 points a game, we should be in every game.
"Bishop Carroll has a nice ballclub,'' Hahn said. "It's tough to come in here and win. When we can come in here and beat them on their own floor, we'll take that.''
Haigh led Carroll with 16 points, while Martinazzi added 11 and junior guard Adie Divido chipped in 10 for the Lady Huskies.
"They outplayed us on both sides of the ball tonight,'' Gongloff said of McCort. "We didn't value the possession today, and we didn't rebound well.
"They got the stops when they needed to make them, and every time we made a run, they responded and they made a run,'' Gongloff said.
Game notes: Kutskel and Haigh led Carroll in rebounds with eight apiece, while Yingling and sophomore Cierra Widmar collected seven each for McCort … McCort made 24 of 61 shots from the floor, while Carroll made 18 of 47 … Carroll visits Blairsville in a non-league matchup Monday night.
BISHOP MCCORT (65): Thomas 9 4-6 26, Gibbons 5 2-2 13, Yingling 3 3-4 10, Widmar 1 0-0 2, Wilson 5 2-2 12, Hunt 1 0-0 2, Rozich 0 0-0 0, Eckenrod 0 0-0 0, Bridges 0 0-0 0, Forte 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 24 11-15 65.
BISHOP CARROLL (51): Borlie 1 0-0 3, Martinazzi 4 2-2 11, Divido 4 0-0 10, Kutskel 3 0-2 6, Haigh 5 6-9 16, Rosenberger 0 0-0 0, K. Yahner 1 2-4 5, Gittings 0 0-0 0, Blake 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 18 10-17 51.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop McCort 18 17 17 13 -- 65
Bishop Carroll 12 16 16 7 -- 51
3-point goals: Bishop McCort 6 (Thomas 4, Gibbons, Yingling); Bishop Carroll 5 (Martinazzi 3, Divido 2, K. Yahner).
Records: Bishop McCort (2-1); Bishop Carroll (3-1).
JV: Bishop Carroll, 43-17. High scorers--K. Yahner and Gittings, BC, 9 apiece.