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GIRLS BASKETBALL: McAuley finishes strong to capture Gem City Classic title

By:
Jason Peake

 

DIAMOND, Mo. — When crunch time arrived, the McAuley Catholic girls basketball team was the team that made crucial plays on both ends of the floor.

As a result, the Warriors were the team celebrating a tournament championship.

McAuley Catholic finished strong to earn a 39-32 victory over Diamond in the championship game of the Gem City Classic on Saturday.

“We’ve never made it to the championship game here and I’ve had some pretty decent squads my last three or four years,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “For this team to not only get to the championship game and face a really tough Diamond team, but to win it really means a lot.”

The Warriors kept their record unblemished at 4-0 by getting the job done down the stretch.   

“We’ve got a short bench…we’re without our starting post player,” Howard noted. “We’ve got some girls out, so we only really had six girls for this game. To be able to play the entire game, and to do what we told them, I have to give our girls all the credit in the world. I’m so proud of them.” 

The tourney’s championship game was a nail-biter. 

A back-and-forth first half ended with Diamond clinging to a 17-16 lead. 

The momentum swung in McAuley’s favor in the third quarter. The Warriors began the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 26-19 advantage. 

Mcauley forced several turnovers and began getting good looks inside while also getting to the foul line during the surge. 

“We kept saying if we played good defense our offense would eventually come,” Howard said. “We drew up some plays that we didn’t do in the first half. They executed them well and they just kept playing hard.”

Diamond freshman Lauren Turner hit a 3-pointer to trim McAuley’s lead to 26-22 at the end of the third quarter and sophomore guard Grace Frazier buried a trey early in the final frame to make it a one-point game. 

After two teams traded six-point scoring runs, with four straight from McAuley’s Kennedy DeRuy, the Warriors were clinging to a 32-31 lead with two minutes to play. 

In a key sequence, McAuley senior guard Kayleigh Teeter drew a foul and connected on two free throws, the Wildcats misfired and fouled, and Teeter sank two more at the stripe, making it 36-31 with just 35 seconds remaining.

Diamond’s Makaylynn Lafferty made 1-of-2 at the line, but Teeter knocked down two more charities with 17 seconds on the clock.

After a Diamond turnover and foul, Teeter made one final free throw attempt for the final margin. 

DeRuy scored 17 points to lead the Warriors, while Teeter added 15.

Teeter made 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter. 

“I told them to get the ball in Kayleigh’s hands and let her do her thing,” Howard said. “That’s who we want on the free throw line at the end of games. She showed why she’s clutch. And she showed how she’s scored more than 1,200 points in her career.” 

Avery Gardner added five points for the Warriors and Avery Eminger had two points, while Kloee Williamson rounded out the starting five. 

Frazier scored 14 points to lead Diamond (2-2). 

McAuley hosts Sarcoxie on Thursday, while Diamond returns to action on Monday night with a home date with Thomas Jefferson. 

 

The McAuley Catholic girls basketball won the Gem City Classic on Saturday night at Diamond High School.

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