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TYRONE -- Bishop Guilfoyle Academy opened Monday night's Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference girls basketball matchup with Tyrone with plenty of foul trouble and difficulty getting shots to fall in the first half.
In fact, the Lady Marauders almost put the Lady Eagles in the bonus in both the first and the second quarters.
But once the second half got going, thanks in part to a couple of 3-pointers from Anberlyn Petrecca and Layona Williams, respectively, they pulled away for a 58-30 triumph at the Tyrone Middle School gym.
"We just started really slow on the offensive end," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Kristi Kaack said. "I tried to tell the kids I think we were playing offense for like five seconds, and then a shot was going up (in the first half). I was much happier in the second half. I thought we worked the ball and got some quality looks, and we finally put the ball in the basket."
Williams, along with Morgan Ruggery, led all scorers with 17 points, while Petrecca added 11.
The first signs the Lady Marauders started waking up offensively came with about a minute to go in the first half as Williams converted a turnover into a layup for a nine-point lead. Ruggery later took a feed and added two more to make it 21-12 at the break.
From there, that's when the floodgates opened as Petrecca drew the bonus opportunity with less than 5½ minutes to go in the third. Ruggery added seven more points to help BG take a 38-23 lead after three.
"I think they definitely stepped up the pressure in the second half," Tyrone coach Mike Whitling said. "We're not quite there yet in being comfortable enough to set up our offenses and then execute out of our offenses. It's one thing to set it up, and it's one thing to see all the reads. I definitely like where we are at it. We're definitely not at our peak right now, and we're working toward that."
The Lady Marauders added on during the fourth as Gia Adams knocked down a 3-pointer with about five minutes left in the game. Williams added on 10 points to help put the game away.
"We just try to tell them to make a couple of passes so we can get rebounders in position," Kaack said. "I don't think we did that early, but I think we did a much better job later. Our defensive pressure was a lot better in the second half, too. I think we allowed them to dictate us in the first half and we did a much better job in the second half."
Kaack was pleased to see how her team handled the early adversity from the Lady Eagles.
"We're extremely seasoned," she said. "We told them we don't have room to make mistakes that they made a year ago. We're grown up now. It's hard to just win sometimes, especially when you go on the road. To have a little bit of adversity in that first half where the ball is not falling and we are in some foul trouble, and to finish the way that we did, I'm just proud of the way they're sticking with it and fighting."
Both teams are now off until after Christmas as BG will travel to the Pittsburgh area for games against Neshannock and Thomas Jefferson this weekend while Tyrone will host its annual Christmas Tournament next week.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (58): Ruggery 7 3-4 17, Haigh 2 0-0 4, Petrecca 5 0-1 11, Homan 1 0-0 3, Yeskey 0 0-0 0, Adams 2 0-0 6, Williams 7 0-0 17. Totals -- 24 3-5 58.
TYRONE (30): Crowell 0 0-0 0, Lehman 1 2-4 4, Parker 0 2-2 2, Volders 0 0-0 0, Woomer 3 2-4 8, Harpster 0 0-0 0, Davis 2 1-1 5. Totals -- 9 9-14 30.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 9 12 17 20 -- 58
Tyrone 6 6 11 7 -- 30
3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (Petrecca, Adams 2, Williams 3, Homan), Tyrone 2 (Woodring 2)
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (4-0), Tyrone (4-2).
Officials: Skip Dry, Chris Walter, Mike Andrews
JV: No game