Basketball

Lady Marauder freshmen deliver in win over Carroll

By Jamie Eichenlaub

For the Mirror

Bishop Guilfoyle girls basketball coach Kristi Kaack feels that "anyone can step up on any given night" to spark the Lady Marauders.

On Friday night, the freshmen duo of Anderlyn Petrecca and Morgan Ruggery filled that role to help keep the team's unbeaten streak intact to start the season.

Petrecca got off to a hot start with nine first-quarter points, and Ruggery closed strong by scoring the team's first seven points of the fourth quarter as the two combined to score 29 points in the game, a 57-36 victory over Bishop Carroll in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference matchup at the Pleasant Valley Gym.

"We kind of look at that anyone can step up on any given night, and tonight it happened to be those two. We liked everything they got, they did it outside, inside, they can score from all areas of the floor. They can score from all areas of the floor," Kaack said of her two freshmen. "(Petrecca) is tough because she can go inside and she can play outside, she can score from all areas on the floor. Morgan really looks like she's coming into her own and she's getting more comfortable. We look for that growth to continue with her."

BG ran its record to 12-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference.

"For us right now, everyone is contributing on both ends of the floor which we're really excited about," said Kaack, who didn't play any seniors in the game. "We talk to our kids about competing for a full 32 minutes, That's kind of been the one area for us we're looking to improve on. With this young group, I think they're doing really well to start the year."

Petrecca opened and closed the first-quarter scoring for BG. A short turnaround jumper keyed a 9-0 run to start the game, and later she knocked down a 3-pointer with seconds left in the opening quarter to give the Lady Marauders a 22-8 advantage.

"I just think that we worked really well together tonight," said Petrecca, who scored nine of her game-high 16 points in the first quarter."

BG kept rolling in the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the quarter on baskets by Petrecca and sophomores Stella Yeskey and Alana Lightner for a 28-8 lead at the 6:00 mark. Bishop Carroll's Caroline Golden ended the run with a basket at 5:36, but BG sophomore Gia Adams answered with a 3-pointer to push the lead back over 20 points (31-10) with 5:12 to go before halftime.

BG, which carried a 41-18 cushion into halftime, didn't see its lead dip below 20 points the rest of the game.

"BG is well-coached, they are a class act, they're very athletic, they're a very good team," Bishop Carroll head coach Erika Strittmatter said. "We did battle, we never quit on the game but unfortunately their shots fell tonight. They're a great program."

Bishop Carroll did battle in the second half, forcing six turnovers and outscoring BG 8-7 in the third quarter. The Lady Marauders held a 48-26 lead going into the fourth quarter. That's when Ruggery helped stamp the victory.

Ruggery converted a pair of layups, hit a short jumper and made a free throw as she scored all seven points as BG went on a 7-2 run over the first 2:38 of the fourth quarter to take a commanding 55-28 lead.

"We just wanted to keep the energy, keep playing hard, and keep playing tough defense to get us some good looks," said Ruggery, who finished the game with 13 points. "We're playing really well as a team."

Kaack also pointed out the play of another freshman in the starting lineup, Maurie Querry, who added six points and three rebounds.

"She had a phenomenal floor game guarding the ball," Kaack said. "She passed the ball extremely well. I thought she got us a lot of quality looks."

Bishop Carroll slipped to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the conference. The Lady Huskies travel to Forest Hills for a conference game on Wednesday.

BG is off until Friday when it travels to Tyrone for a conference game.

GAME NOTES: Yeskey contributed six points and eight rebounds for BG. … Madison Delauter and Adelyn Myers led Bishop Carroll with seven points apiece. … In the junior varsity game, Homan hit a pair of free throws with 10.4 seconds left to give BG a low-scoring, hard-fought 20-18 win. Homan led all scorers in the JV game with seven points.

BISHOP CARROLL (36): Delauter 3 0-0 7, Laughard 0 1-4 1, Pablic 1 0-0 3, Golden 2 1-1 5, Heinrich 1 0-2 2, A. Myers 3 1-1 7, L. Myers 2 0-0 4, Olienyk 1 0-0 2, Dziabo 0 0-0 0, Sirsikar 1 2-2 5, Lieb 0 0-0 0, Becquet 0 0-0 0, Diehl 0 0-0 0. Totals - 14 5-10 36.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (57): Querry 3 0-0 6, Ruggery 5 1-1 13, Petrecca 7 1-2 16, Yeskey 3 0-0 6, Lightner 5 0-0 10, Gofus 0 0-0 0, Adams 1 0-0 3, Homan 1 0-0 3, Lechner 0 0-0 0, Steward 0 0-0 0, Hite 0 0-0 0, Marasco 0 0-0 0. Totals - 25 2-3 57.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Carroll 8 10 8 10 - 36

Bishop Guilfoyle 22 19 7 9 - 57

3-point goals - Bishop Carroll 3 (Delauter, Pablic, Sirsikar); Bishop Guilfoyle 0 ().

Records: Bishop Carroll (2-7, 1-5 LHAC); Bishop Guilfoyle (12-0, 8-0 LHAC).

JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 20-18. High scorers: Homan, BG, 7; Lieb, BC, 6.

Officials: Chris Garritano, Charles Glasser, Anthony Sottile.