Basketball

Lady Marauders edge McCort in thriller

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

When long-time diocesan and Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference rivals Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Bishop McCort butt heads in any sporting event, odds are that it will be a donnybrook.

That was certainly the case Friday night, in the girls basketball showdown that served as the second game of a boys-girls doubleheader between the two schools at the Jaffa Shrine Center.

After McCort broke out to an early 12-0 lead, the two teams fought tooth-and-nail the rest of the way before Guilfoyle emerged with a hard-fought 62-60 victory.

"It was a fun atmosphere for these two teams tonight, and any time we play McCort, we know that we're going to be in for a game,'' said Guilfoyle coach Kristi Kaack, whose team improved to 15-2 overall and 12-1 in conference play. "They're a physical team that plays a good up-tempo game and they shot the 3 (point field goal) really well tonight.''

BG placed three players in double figures, led by sophomore Anberlyn Petrecca's 17 points. Sophomore guard Morgan Ruggery added 14, and freshman guard Layona Williams chipped in 11.

"In the second half, we got the stops when we needed to, and I thought that Anberlyn Petrecca did a really nice job underneath the basket securing rebounds for us,'' Kaack said.

Petrecca led BG with seven rebounds, including a putback basket with 1:21 remaining that gave the Marauders a 58-57 lead.

Not be denied, McCort (14-3, 11-2) regained the lead, 59-58, on sophomore Ava Zucco's shot from the key, before Petrecca gave BG the lead for good by converting a feed from sophomore guard Maurie Querry underneath the basket with 13 seconds left to put the Lady Marauders up, 60-59.

"We did a good job of sharing the ball tonight, with Maurie Querry finding our post players underneath,'' Kaack said. "We were very patient on the offensive end tonight.''

After McCort missed a shot from the deep right corner, Ruggery rebounded and was eventually fouled. She made both shots with three seconds left to give BG a 62-59 lead.

McCort senior Elle Berkebile was fouled with less than a second left on the clock, and made the first but missed the second. BG got the rebound, and the final buzzer sounded.

"I think that we did a pretty good job at the end of the game of staying calm and locking in on defense,'' Petrecca said.

Things could have gone sideways early for the Lady Marauders, who fell behind 12-0 in the first quarter and couldn't score their first field goal until just 2:30 remained in the period.

Trailing 19-11 in the second quarter, BG put together a 10-point run, with Querry and Ruggery hitting field goals, Williams tossing in a 3-pointer, and Petrecca scoring off an inside feed for the Lady Marauders, who pushed themselves ahead, 29-26 at the intermission.

With Petrecca scoring seven points, BG carried the third quarter, 16-13, to take a 45-39 lead after three stops.

"I think that we really started to pick it up after halftime,'' Petrecca said. "We knew that we had to come out with more energy in the second half.''

Even so, the never-say-die McCort team would not relent, winning the fourth quarter, 21-17, and battling back from a 46-39 deficit with an 18-10 run to set the stage for an air-tight finish.

Berkebile scored a game-high 19 points and Zucco added 17 for the Lady Crushers.

"Elle Berkebile and Ava Zucco both played very well for us tonight,'' McCort coach John Hahn said. "This was a great atmosphere for an excellent game played by two good teams that left everything out on the floor tonight.''

BISHOP MCCORT (60): Zucco 6 5-5 17, Preuss 4 1-1 11, Berkebile 6 3-4 19, Bailey 2 1-1 6, Toth 2 0-0 5, Ferguson 1 0-0 2, Bair 0 0-0 0. Totals - 21 10-11 60.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (62): Ruggery 3 8-10 14, Querry 3 0-0 6, Williams 4 2-2 11, Petrecca 8 1-3 17, Haigh 1 0-0 2, Yeskey 2 1-1 5, Gofus 1 0-0 2, Homan 2 0-0 5. Totals - 24 12-16 62.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop McCort 17 9 13 21--60

Bishop Guilfoyle 7 22 16 17--62

3-point goals: Bishop McCort 8 (Berkebile 4, Preuss 2, Bailey, Toth); Bishop Guilfoyle 2 (Williams, Homan).

Records: Bishop McCort (14-3 overall, 11-2 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Bishop Guilfoyle (15-2, 12-1).

Officials: Jason Romagna, Chris Garritano, John Nepsha