Ruggery

Over the last couple of seasons, whenever Bishop Guilfoyle Academy and Clearfield have met on the girls basketball hardwood, the games have generally been close with only one game being decided by double digits.

Monday night, it appeared both sides were on their way to another close affair until the turnover bug caught up with the Lady Bisons.

Bishop Guilfoyle from there cashed in and never looked back, ending the first quarter on a 14-1 run and cruised to a 62-34 triumph at the Pleasant Valley Gymnasium.

Some of that momentum the Lady Marauders built in the first half came thanks to four 3-pointers — two from Mary Haigh — which helped power an early 23-11 score.

“The past two years we’ve had close games with Clearfield,” BG’s Morgan Ruggery said. “We knew we were going to have to come out and play super hard. Once we started getting into our rhythm and getting steals and playing tough defense, those extra points were crucial.”

Ruggery came up with a turnover early in the second quarter and converted that into a layup as she scored a game-high 18 points. She later added another bucket off a feed from Haigh to help power a 19-7 second-quarter outburst as the Lady Marauders took a 42-18 lead into the break.

Before the game, Ruggery was honored for having scored her 1,000th career point during last Friday’s win at Bedford.

“I think it’s really special, and especially doing it with the people around me is really special,” Ruggery said. “The coaches I’ve had the whole way in junior high, Sam Conrad, she was great. Coming up with (BG Coach) Kristi (Kaack) and the rest of the coaching staff, I’ve been really lucky with coaches and I think it’s very special to hit that milestone with them, too.”

Kaack couldn’t be prouder of her junior.

“Just the start of her career has been pretty historical already,” she said. “She means so much to our program. She’s always willing to step up and guard the other team’s best player. What she just does as a player on both ends of the floor, she’s just really special and I’m thankful I get to coach her.”

In the third quarter, Ruggery and Anberlyn Petrecca combined for 10 points as part of a 16-2 third to help activate the running clock. Petrecca finished with 17.

“They’re a good team, they’re a balanced team,” Clearfield coach Melissa Helsel said. “I think we beat ourselves as much as they beat us in the first half, too. They’re a state championship team. BG’s good at putting pressure (on opposing offenses). We couldn’t get the kickouts that we needed, we were a little on late those. That affects our shooters on the outside. BG’s very good at that.”

Kaack was pleased with how her girls weathered the early storm.

“For us, getting up and down when they were scoring with us in the beginning, it took us a minute to get our legs and our bearings,” she said. “Once we started to do that, we moved the ball extremely well. “We were very unselfish today, we were finding the open person in transition in the half court set. After that first quarter, we stepped up and locked in on defense.”

CLEARFIELD (34): Diehl 6 5-8 17, E. Helsel 5 1-2 12, M. Helsel 1 0-0 2, Hudson 1 0-0 3, Evilsizor 0 0-0 0, Natoli 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 6-10 34.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (62): Ruggery 8 2-2 18, Haigh 2 0-0 6, Petrecca 7 2-2 17, Yesky 3 0-2 6, Adams 0 0-0 0, Homan 1 0-0 3, Williams 2 0-0 5, Homan 2 0-0 6, B. Bianconi 1 0-2 3, Hite 1 1-2 4, Steward 0 0-0 0, Geishauser 0 0-0 0, Seidel 0 0-0 0, M. Bianconi 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 5-10 62.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Clearfield 11 7 2 14 – 34

Bishop Guilfoyle 23 19 16 4 – 62

3-point field goals: Clearfield 2 (E. Helsel, Hudson), Bishop Guilfoyle 7 (Haigh 2, Petrecca, Homan, Williams, B. Bianconi, Hite)

Records: Clearfield (9-4), Bishop Guilfoyle (14-0).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Randy Burkett, Jack McDougal

JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 47-16. High scorers: B. Miller, C, 8; B. Bianconi, BG, 14.