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After shortened 2020 season, BG girls conquer the state

03/26/21 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Bishop Guilfoyle seniors (from left) Aurielle Brunner, Sophia Warner, Ally Bagley, Dani Scipioni, Teresa Haigh and Reagan McClurkin pose with their trophy and Hershey's chocolate bar.

HERSHEY — Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic girls basketball coach Kristi Kaack noticed an increased level of focus among her team the past couple of weeks and said she saw something special happening in the gym.

That vision came to fruition Friday afternoon at Hershey’s Giant Center when the Lady Marauders took control of the game late in the first quarter and defeated District 1 champion Jenkintown, 62-47, for the PIAA Class 1A championship.

“This is the closest team I have ever played with, easily,” Bishop Guilfoyle senior Teresa Haigh said. “Everyone from our top senior to our smallest freshman loves each other and trusts each other. Being able to do this with them is like nothing else.”

The state title is the seventh in program history but the first since 2010.

“These girls just get excited when faced with pressure,” Kaack said. “With some players, it might over overwhelming or create nerves, but these kids get excited for the big games. You saw that today. It took a little while to get into a rhythm, but once they did it was like we were playing in our own gym.”

Jenkintown, which won a PIAA title in 2018 when its current seniors were freshmen, jumped out to a 10-6 lead, but Bishop Guilfoyle answered with an 18-2 run sparked by Aurielle Brunner’s traditional three-point play with 1:37 left in the first quarter.

It was a play Drakes coach Jim Romano, who has won more than 700 games at Jenkintown, disputed.

“You don’t want to say anything, but our girl got bumped on a drive to the basket with us up, and there was no call and then their girl came down and there was a whistle that I thought was an offensive foul,” Romano said. “I think those two plays at that particular time might not have changed the outcome, but at that time, those were two big plays.”

Seconds later, BG senior Sophia Warner stole the ball and made a layup and then hit a jump shot on the Lady Marauders’ next possession. Warner accounted for six first-quarter points while Jenkintown’s defense concentrated on Haigh and Leah Homan.

“We knew they were going to focus on Leah and Teresa, and we knew all around if we were going to win, we were going to have to make up for it offensively and create,” Warner said. “We felt some pressure, but we also trusted each other enough to know that we could do it.”

Jenkintown senior Carly Mulvaney, who led all scorers with 21 points, halted the 11-0 run with a long jump shot, but Haigh answered back immediately with a 3-pointer. She finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“We obviously felt a little pressure, but we knew that we needed to stay calm and collected coming into this game,” Haigh said. “This was a huge atmosphere, but we just focused on playing our game, and I’m glad we pulled it off.”

The Lady Marauders went up by as many as 12 points in the first half but settled for a 29-21 lead with two quarters to play.

Contributions from unexpected offensive sources continued in the third quarter as Brunner opened the scoring with just her third 3-pointer of the season and Daniela Scipioni followed with one of her own one possession later.

“(Jenkintown) really focused on Leah and Teresa, which after our last two games, I would too,” Kaack said. “The thing is, they have such great kids around them. If teams take (Homan and Haigh) away, they know we have three other kids that are ready to step up and carry that offensive load, and they did a great job.”

Warner and Scipioni each finished with 11 points, and Brunner added eight points after not scoring in BG’s first two state playoff games.

“We knew they had some good shooters, so we tried to force the other girls to beat us, but all they had to do was make a couple and they really hurt,” Romano said. “We tried our best, but one game does not define this group of girls and what they have accomplished over the past four years.”

Scipioni scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.

“My team worked the ball around really well, and I got open and just made shots,” Scipioni said. “It feels amazing to win a state championship with my best friends. I’m so thankful we got this opportunity to play after last year when we didn’t get to finish.”

Scipioni was referring to the Lady Marauders’ run to the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals that was stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic last season, which included a win over back-to-back PIAA champion Bellwood-Antis in the District 6 playoffs and a state playoff win over this season’s 2A champion, Mount Carmel.

“This is all we have been talking about since we got that call last year that we couldn’t finish,” Haigh said. “It means so much to us.”

Homan, the only underclassman among the starters, said sending the seniors out with a championship was important.

“I knew the talent we had, and we all recognized how special this team was and that we had to get it done,” said Homan, who contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds. “We did it. Every day we got up and went to practice and fought for each other, and that’s what we did today.

“This just shows you should never give up and just keep pushing and pushing to get what you want, and that’s what we did. We never gave up. We knew what we wanted to accomplish, and we got it done.”

Game notes: Bishop Guilfoyle senior Ally Bagley was the first reserve used in the game by either team with just 3:14 remaining. Bagley made a layup that increased BG’s lead to 20 with 2:30 to play. … Fellow senior Reagan McClurkin did not dress for the game or any of BG’s playoff games as she was ineligible for playoffs due to being a transfer from Bishop McCort. Tessa Klock, a junior on the team, also did not dress due to a season-ending shoulder injury. … Katie McGrath added 19 points for Jenkintown but was just 3-of-14 from 3-point range, which contributed to the Drakes’ overall 3-point mark of just 5-for-24.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (62): Brunner 3-5 1-1 8, Warner 5-7 0-0 11, Homan 6-18 2-2 14, Scipioni 4-7 1-2 11, Haigh 6-15 2-2 16, Bagley 1-2 0-0 2, Geishauser 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 0-0 0-0 0, Quinn 0-0 0-0 0, Farabaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Steinbugl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 25-54 6-7 62.

JENKINTOWN (47): Westkaemper 0-1 0-0 0, McGrath 7-24 2-5 19, Brockwell 1-2 0-0 3, Walsh 1-12 1-2 4, Mulvaney 5-15 11-12 21, Cummings 0-0 0-0 0, Morrin 0-0 0-0 0, Gabrielsen 0-0 0-0 0, Stephenson 0-0 0-0 0, O’Brien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 14-54 14-19 47.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 15 14 20 13 — 62

Jenkintown 10 11 12 14 — 47

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 6-14 (Scipioni 2-3, Haigh 2-6, Brunner 1-1, Warner 1-1, Homan 0-3); Jenkintown 5-24 (McGrath 3-14, Brockwell 1-2, Walsh 1-5, Mulvaney 0-3)

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (17-4); Jenkintown (18-2)

Officials: Megan Post, Steven Cabady, John Frey

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