GIRLS HOOPS: Verona rallies in second half to knock off McAuley

It was a tale of two halves Friday night as the McAuley Catholic girls basketball team hosted the Verona Wildcats.
Overcoming a big halftime deficit, Verona rallied in the second half for a 43-34 win.
The Warriors got out to a great start with sophomore Lily Black and junior Kennedy DeRuy hitting field goals, while junior Kayleigh Teeter made two baskets of her own.
Black and Teeter also went a combined 3-for-5 from the line. At the same time the Warriors held Verona to just two baskets by senior Paige Bauer. McAuley led 9-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The dominant performance continued in the second quarter, as Teeter added five more points, and Black also had another basket. They were aided by freshman Kloee Williamson who had a field goal and a 3 of her own.
DeRuy also added a pair of free throws. Defensively, the Warriors once again held the Wildcats to just four more points by Bauer.
Leading 23-8 at halftime, the game looked to be over.
After scoring all eight of her team’s points in the first half, Bauer continued to carry her team on her shoulders coming out of the half taking the Wildcats on a ridiculous 13-3 run, with Bauer scoring 11 of those points including a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers.
In what was a complete reversal from the first two quarters, McAuley was only able to score four points—a 3 from Teeter and a free throw from Black. In one quarter Verona went from missing nearly every shot to seemingly being unable to miss as they scored 25 points to McAuley’s four in a stunning eight minutes that saw the Wildcats take a 34-27 lead into the fourth.
“We stopped playing hard defense, and they couldn’t miss,” Warriors coach Mike Howard said. “They kept shooting and seemed to make every shot. I knew they were going to come back out the second half and be aggressive. I told the girls not to be complacent, and I think that’s what happened.”
The Warriors fought hard to regain control. Teeter and Black each contributed baskets, and junior Abbey Cahalan made her lone field goal of the evening, but the team collectively went 1-for-5 in free throws as they struggled to find the chemistry they had in the first half.
The Wildcats went 3-for-4 from the free throw and hit several big baskets to maintain their lead and eventually win the game 43-34, rallying from a 23-8 deficit at halftime.
“We played a very good first half, defensively and offensively,” Howard said. “Verona has a very good team, and one of the best players in the area, and to hold them to eight points says a lot about our team. Now, we have to put a full game together, and I think if we can do that, we’ll win it. Hats off to Verona, they earned that win.”