Avery Myers

JOHNSTOWN — Bishop Carroll Catholic girls basketball coach Nick Smith treats every game as though it could be his team’s last. The approach to Monday night’s game against Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference rival Bishop McCort Catholic proved to be no different.

The Huskies assumed an early eight-point lead and fought off every challenge the Crimson Crushers posed in a 57-56 victory at the Bradley Center. Bishop McCort’s eight-game winning streak, which followed a 2-4 start, came to an end.

“We play every game like it’s our last game, as if it’s like a district playoff game. Every game means something to us, especially (in terms of seeding) and making a run at districts. So we don’t take a day off,” Smith said.

The Huskies dashed to a 13-5 lead with 2:25 left in the first period. The Crimson Crushers reduced the deficit to 17-16 at the 5:11 mark of the second quarter and remained within two possessions the rest of the night.

“(We knew) it would be a hard test, a tough place to win. They’re a great coached team,” Smith said.

Bishop Carroll sophomore Emily Lucko attained her customary game-high scoring honors with 15 points. She also ripped down five rebounds. Sarah Miller added 11 points. Avery Myers came off the bench to contribute eight points, three offensive rebounds and two steals.

Junior Ava Pablic also scored eight points and grabbed a game-best eight rebounds.

“I don’t know what they shot from the floor, but man oh man man, they shot the ball extremely well,” Bishop McCort coach John Hahn said.

The Huskies made good on 22 of 44 from the floor, including 5 of 13 from 3-point range.

“It was a team effort tonight with effort, energy. It was physical. But we played through it all. Everyone who played on our tonight (I give) credit to them,” Smith said.

“It’s a whole team effort. If they take one away, we have five or six more ready to go. We practice the same things, the same plays every day. So they know if someone goes down, someone else has to step up.”

Senior Ava Zucco led the Crushers with 13 points. Bishop McCort also received 20 points from two of its reserves. Sophomore Lexi Wachs hit four 3-point field goals to account for her 12 points. Bishop McCort hit 11 of 26 from beyond the arc.

“We game-planned for the bench. Sometimes there is nothing you can do when people are hitting,” Smith said.

Zucco’s 3-pointer 3:39 into the third period gave Bishop McCort its first lead since the first two minutes of the game, 34-33. Reese Bair hit the third of the Crushers’ four 3-pointers in the period to give them their last lead of the night, 37-36 one minute later.

“We had some costly turnovers. But this is the kind of game that gets you ready for the playoffs. We knew Carroll was good, they knew we were good,” Hahn said. “We did well on the boards. We had a couple of breakdowns at the wrong time.”

BISHOP CARROLL (57): Delauter 3 1-2 9, Lucko 7 0-0 15, Miller 4 1-2 11, Adelyn Myers 3 0-0 6, Pablic 3 2-3 8, Avery Myers 4 0-0 8. Totals – 24 4-7 57.

BISHOP MCCORT (56): Preuss 3 0-0 8, Zucco 5 1-2 13, Bair 1 0-0 3, Ferguson 2 0-0 5, Bailey 3 2-2 9, Wachs 4 0-0 12, Nash 4 0-0 8. Totals – 22 3-6 56.

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

Bishop Carroll 13 15 19 10 — 57

Bishop McCort 8 18 18 11 — 56

3-point field goals: Bishop Carroll 5 (Delauter 2, Miller 2, Lucko), Bishop McCort 11 (Wachs 4, Preuss 2, Zucco 2, Bailey, Bair, Ferguson).

Officials: George Figura, Vicki Markiewicz, Terri Piatak.

Team records: Bishop Carroll (15-1, 10-1 LHAC), Bishop McCort (10-5, 9-2 LHAC).

JV: Bishop McCort, 44-39.