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Others stepping up for Guilfoyle

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

BELLWOOD — Throughout the first half of the 2024-25 high school basketball season, the defending PIAA Class 1A girls state champion Bishop Guilfoyle Academy Lady Marauders have been epitomizing the concept of teamwork.

They did so again Thursday night in a 55-39 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over Bellwood-Antis at the Bellwood-Antis High School gymnasium.

With two injured starters out of its lineup, BG circled the wagons and placed three players in double figures, led by Anberlyn Petrecca’s game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Morgan Ruggery added 11 points and freshman Layona Williams scored 10 for BG, which improved to 12-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play.

Sophomore Maurie Querry added to the Lady Marauders’ balance by scoring nine points on three 3-point shots.

“I thought we did a real nice job of sharing the ball tonight,” BG coach Kristi Kaack said. “I’m really proud of the way that our kids worked the ball patiently against (Bellwood’s) zone defense and looked for the good shot.”

“We had phenomenal balance tonight, with four kids scoring at least nine points,” Kaack added. “It’s going to be really hard to stop a team that has that many players contributing.”

With Petrecca scoring seven first-quarter points, BG held a 16-8 lead after one period. BG led 22-14 midway through the second quarter before senior Leigha Clapper scored a pair of buckets on an inside shot and a short try from the baseline to pull B-A to within four points, 22-18.

However, BG promptly responded with a 10-point run to build its lead to 14 points, 32-18. Petrecca hit a 3-ball from the top of the circle, Querry followed with another 3-point goal from the left side, Ruggery scored after taking a feed underneath the basket, and Williams followed with a mid-range jumper to comprise the rally.

BG led 33-20 at halftime and 44-31 after three quarters, as the closest that Bellwood could get to the Lady Marauders in the second half was 10 points, 47-37, early in the fourth quarter.

Bellwood (7-8, 6-6) was led in scoring by freshman guard Karlie Sweigert, who totaled 10 points. Bellwood coach Kyley Longo was pleased with her team’s effort.

“This is the hardest that we’ve decided to play this year,” Longo said. “Offensively, our ball movement was good, and we handled their pressure well, but defensively, we missed some box-outs and allowed them some extra points on second-chance opportunities. If that doesn’t happen, I believe that it would have been a six-point game.

“But I thought that we matched their effort tonight,” added Longo, whose team visits Hollidaysburg for another conference game on Monday night. “We didn’t roll over just because we saw the BG name on their shirts. There are times when you’ll (accept) a loss if it makes you a better team, and I think that was the case for us tonight.”

BG next sees action on Saturday evening against Norwin of District 7 in a game that will be played at Seton Hill University. Kaack praised the defensive efforts of senior Riley Gofus and freshman Mary Haigh against Bellwood junior standout Lilly Gerwert on Thursday.

“Lilly Gerwert is a really good player, and I thought that Riley Gofus and Mary Haigh did a really good job defending her,” Kaack said. “We’re down two starters right now, but I’m proud of the way that our other kids have been stepping up for us.”

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (55): Ruggery 5 1-3 11, Williams 4 0-0 10, Petrecca 7 2-4 18, Querry 3 0-0 9, Haigh 1 2-2 4, Homan 0 0-0 0, Gofus 1 1-2 3. Totals -21 6-11 55.

BELLWOOD-ANTIS (39): Clapper 2 2-4 6, Norton 3 1-2 8, Gerwert 4 0-0 9, Sloey 0 3-4 3, Sweigert 3 4-5 10, Turek 1 1-1 3. Totals – 13 11-16 39.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 16 17 11 11 — 55

Bellwood-Antis 8 12 11 8–39

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (Querry 3, Williams 2, Petrecca 2); Bellwood-Antis 2 (Norton, Gerwert).

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (12-2 overall, 10-1 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Bellwood-Antis (7-8, 6-6).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Jack McDougal, Jarryd Burkett.

JV: No game.

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