Basketball

BG delivers late to edge Lady Pirates

Two of the top Class 1A girls basketball teams in District 6, Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic and Williamsburg, squared off Tuesday night at the Pleasant Valley gymnasium in a matchup that did not disappoint, and which held the kind of playoff-type suspense that the odds favor will be revisited by the two squads at the end of the regular season.

Bishop Guilfoyle's freshman and sophomore-dominated lineup came up big in the fourth quarter, as the Lady Marauders reeled off the last eight points of the game to erase a 37-33 deficit and remain unbeaten with a hard-fought 41-37 victory.

Freshman Anberlyn Petrecca scored 13 points and freshman Maurie Querry added 11, including seven in the fourth quarter, as BG improved to 7-0 on the season.

"This was a fantastic game,'' BG coach Kristi Kaack said. "I'm really proud of our kids. We went down by six points in the second half, and I thought that we did a really nice job of keeping our composure on the defensive end.

"It's great for our program to play a team like Williamsburg,'' Kaack added. "We scheduled them here this year, and we will go to their place to play next year. I continue to say that we're a young team that is playing like veterans, and the difference in this game for us tonight was that we ramped it up on the defensive end.''

Nobody came up bigger than Querry, who made a key 3-point shot from the right corner to put the Lady Marauders ahead for good, 38-37, with just under three minutes left, then came up with a game-clinching steal and two free throws to ice the verdict for BG in the closing seconds.

After Petrecca had converted one of two free throws with 21 seconds left to give BG a 39-37 lead, Williamsburg inbounded the ball near midcourt, but Querry tipped the ball away from a Williamsburg player and came up with a diving steal to regain possession for BG.

Querry was fouled on the steal, and made both of her free throws with 10 seconds left to lock up the victory for BG.

"It was a close game, and I knew that we had to secure the lead,'' Querry said. "I tipped the ball out of their girl's hands, went after it, and got it. I secured the ball and got fouled. I think that as a team, we did what we had to do on the defensive end tonight.''

Williamsburg (4-1) was playing again without star senior guard Ayla Hileman, who is expected to return in early January after suffering an ACL tear last spring that required surgery.

The Lady Pirates put forth a great effort Tuesday, led by sophomore guard LeeAnna Royer's game-high 20 points.

"She's our only returning starter on the floor right now, and she's really been stepping us for us,'' Williamsburg coach Amy Hileman said of Royer, whose 3-pointer from the left side, followed by her 3-point play on a steal, layup and free throw, had staked the Lady Pirates to a 37-33 lead with 4:07 left in the game.

"She hustles all over the court above and beyond, and she has really taken a leadership role for us,'' Amy Hileman added.

The game was air-tight throughout. Williamsburg led, 22-17, at halftime before BG pulled into a 29-29 tie by carrying the third quarter, 12-7, closing the period on long-range jumpers by sophomore guard Gia Adams and Querry.

Kaack praised Adams for registering an excellent defensive effort Tuesday.

"Gia is quick and she has good hands,'' Kaack said. "Her defensive effort was huge for us tonight.''

BG held a slight 18-17 edge in rebounds, with Petrecca and Williamsburg freshman forward Levada Gorsuch both grabbing six.

Williamsburg made 14 of 34 floor shots for a 41 percent clip, while BG converted 14 of 35 for 40 percent.

"BG got a couple more buckets than we did tonight,'' Amy Hileman said. "We just couldn't get a few shots to fall for us when it mattered.''

Both teams play again tonight, with BG visiting Penns Valley in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game and Williamsburg hosting McConnellsburg in an Inter-County Conference matchup.

WILLIAMSBURG (37): R. Prough 1 0-0 3, L. Prough 1 0-0 2, Royer 7 2-2 20, Gorsuch 4 1-2 9, Ranalli 1 1-2 3, Carper 0 0-0 0. Totals - 14 4-6 37.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (41): Querry 2 6 -6 11, Petrecca 5 2-5 13, Homan 1 0-0 3, Lightner 0 2-2 2, Yeskey 4 0-0 8, Adams 1 0-0 2, Ruggery 1 0-0 2, Gofus 0 0-0 0. Totals - 14 10-15 41.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Williamsburg 12 10 7 8 -- 37

Bishop Guilfoyle 12 5 12 12 -- 41

3-point goals: Williamsburg 5 (Royer 4, R. Prough); Bishop Guilfoyle 3 (Querry, Petrecca, Homan).

Records: Williamsburg (4-1), Bishop Guilfoyle (7-0).

Officials: Skip Dry, Clark Adelman, Randy Burkett.

JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 27-11. High scorers--Anna Colbert, W, 5; Lyla Steward, BG, 10.