McAuley Catholic had just six players dress on Thursday, but that didn’t stop the Warriors from building a double-digit lead by the intermission on the way to a 45-37 win over Pierce City.
The win pushed the Warriors’ record to a perfect 7-0 on the season.
“We have two players who are out injured, and one of them is my starting post player (Lily Black), and we also had another girl go home sick today,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “We literally had six players tonight, so I thought the girls did a good job with who we had available.”
GAME ACTION
McAuley started the game with a scoring run to take control, building a 9-3 lead over the first four minutes of action. Kloee Williamson started things off with a 3-pointer in the corner before Pierce City’s Sydnee Prater answered back with a 3-pointer of her own to tie the game. Kayleigh Teeter scored a second-chance bucket on the drive and Avery Gardner scored inside on the assist from Teeter.
The Warriors played with that margin for the rest of the period, holding a 17-11 heading into the second period.
McAuley’s defense stepped up in the second quarter, allowing the Warriors to build a double-digit lead by halftime, 26-15, while limiting the Eagles’ scoring to four points in the period.
“It’s really important, especially against a team like that,” Howard said of his team’s defense heading into the break. “If you can push the lead to double digits while slowing the game down, working methodically through your offense and just being patient definitely works to our advantage. I was proud of their effort in the second quarter. I thought they played great defense for the majority of the game.”
The Warriors outscored the Eagles 9-4, Kennedy DeRuy leading the way with a pair of baskets. Avery Eminger added a basket inside, with Gardner adding a bucket inside on a drive-and-dish assist from Williamson.
Both teams played even in the third quarter, heading into the final eight minutes still separated by 11, 32-21. Teeter had a driving score, while DeRuy scored four points in the period.
Pierce City cut the lead to eight points three minutes into the fourth quarter when Prater connected from the corner 3-pointer to make the score 36-28.
McAuley answered back with a catch-and-shoot 3-ball from Teeter and a fast-break score from Williamson off a Teeter steal to push the lead back up to double digits, 41-28, with four minutes left.
“They’ve dug deep all year long,” Howard said about closing out the win. They’ve shown a lot of grit these last three of four games that we’ve been without Lily. They rely on each other to play good defense and to not get into foul trouble because they are playing for each other and they are playing for the school. To be a close-knit family out there, I only have six players out there, and to put forth that effort day in and day out the right way without fouling, it is a positive and always an advantage for our team. I am just super proud of the way they have played the last couple of weeks.”
The Warriors held their pace through the final horn to preserve the win.
SCORING LEADERS
Teeter led McAuley with a game-high 15 points, including eight in the first quarter. Williamson finished in double figures with 10 points, while DeRuy finished with eight. Gardner and Eminger each had six.
Prater also finished with a game-high 15 points, nine coming in the final eight minutes of action, to lead Pierce City in scoring. Macie Crowther finished with nine points.
UP NEXT
McAuley hosts Northeast Vernon County at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
