The 1-2 punch of Kayleigh Teeter and Kennedy DeRuy led the McAuley Catholic girls basketball team to a 47-34 victory over Jasper on Thursday night.
A 5-foot-4 junior, Teeter led the way with 19 points on nine field goals. Teeter scored 10 in the first half and nine after the break, and also hounded Jasper point guard Alexis Durman.
A 5-7 junior, DeRuy added 11 points on four field goals and a pair of free throws.
Warriors coach Mike Howard has come to expect the duo to lead the way for his squad.
“They did a really good job for us tonight,” Howard said. “Kayleigh was really efficient offensively. And I was really impressed with Kayleigh’s defense. She held Durman to seven points and they were all free throws. She’s been averaging about 20 a game. She’s a nice player, she’s very quick and she’s scored over 1,000 points, so Kayleigh did a great job on her. And Kennedy didn’t force shots and she did a good job on the boards.”
The Warriors improved to 11-6.
McAuley led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, and the hosts held a 22-12 lead after a short jumper from Abbey Cahalan.
But the Eagles closed the first half on an 8-2 surge, cutting their deficit to 24-20 at halftime.
“We started out in a triangle-and-two to try and take away their best two players,” Howard said. “In the first quarter, it worked pretty well, but then they started beating it by getting to the basket and drawing fouls. They got us out of our game in the second quarter. They out-played us.”
Ignited by a defensive change, McAuley finished the third period on a 17-2 run to take control, with 14 unanswered points during the surge.
The spurt was capped by Teeter’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, which gave McAuley a comfortable 45-25 advantage heading into the final frame.
Teeter and DeRuy combined for 15 of the 17 points in the burst, as Kloee Williamson chipped in a hoop.
Jasper was limited to two field goals in the third quarter.
Howard noted his team’s defense did a solid job of containing the speedy Durman.
“In the third quarter, we switched things up and went to a box-and-one (on Durman),” Howard said. “We focused on trying to keep her out of the paint and out of the lane. We wanted to make other people beat us. I have to give credit to our girls. I think they did a really good job defensively. We got some turnovers and some rebounds and transition points.”
The Eagles outscored the Warriors 9-2 in the fourth quarter, but McAuley’s lead was never in jeopardy.
Mercadez Scott scored eight points for Jasper, while Durman and Olivia Moss had seven points apiece.
McAuley returns to action at Exeter on Friday night.
