Each time it looked like the Liberal Bulldogs would run away with Tuesday’s season opener, McAuley coach Tony Witt’s team would battle back.
“I’m proud of our guys. They never give up in a game no matter what. Liberal would push it out close to 20 points, but we would get a stop and hit some shots,” Witt said following the 57-47 loss.
Witt had prepared his team for Liberal’s brand of full-court pressure and the Warriors handled it well throughout much of the first half. Senior Joe Staton and sophomore Michael Parrigon drained first quarter threes. Senior Kable Reichardt knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the Bulldogs lead to 9-8 heading to the second.
The last time Liberal played at McAuley, Matt Boehne was a sophomore. He hit a shot at the buzzer to give Travis Walton’s Bulldogs a victory. Two years later, Boehne picked up where he left off, scoring 15 first half points. The second quarter saw Boehne and McAuley senior Rocco Bazzano-Joseph put on a clinic from beyond the arc. Boehne hit three treys and Bazzano-Joseph held serve with a pair of his own 3-pointers to keep the Warriors in it.
Liberal senior Payton Morrow connected on a pair of free throws with five seconds to play in the second period to give the visitors a 30-23 lead at the intermission.
Liberal’s defensive pressure in the fourth quarter turned out to be the difference.
“We knew they were going to pressure us constantly. They have some great athletes and it’s hard to prepare for that in practice. But I give credit to our guys, they didn’t give up,” said Witt, whose team is the seventh seed in next week’s Gem City Classic tournament hosted by Diamond. They will face second-seeded Thomas Jefferson on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
Leading the way in the scorebook for the Warriors was Parrigon with 13 points. Senior Noah Black finished with 10.
Boehne led Liberal with 19 points. Morrow finished with 11.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS HELP MCAULEY GIRLS MAKE STRIDES
The Warriors graduated a talented senior class that led them to an 18-11 record and an appearance in last year’s district title game. Tuesday night the young team’s lack of experience showed as they went scoreless from the 2:37 mark in the first quarter through the remainder of the half.
“We were beating ourselves a lot. We weren’t making smart passes,” said coach Mike Howard, whose team trailed Liberal 24-4 at the break.
Midway through the third quarter, Howard’s crew began to figure it out.
“We did a better job of setting up our offense and we had some girls step up,” he said, adding, “I’m proud of their effort.
Lily Black, McAuley’s lone senior, hit a couple of shots, one on a nice in-bound feed from junior Avery Gardner as McAuley went on a 6-3 run to end the third quarter. Black added a conventional three-point play early in the fourth and Gardner nailed 3s on back-to-back possessions late in the 42-22 loss.
“This group is going to continue to work and continue to grow every single day,” said Howard, whose team received the six-seed in the Gem City Classic. They will square off with College Heights on Tuesday at 8:30.
Black finished with 10 points. Gardner had eight.
BJ Goodell’s team is also young. The Bulldogs do not have a senior on their roster. Sophomore Taylor Swarnes finished with a team high 13 points. Juniors Ellaina LaNear and Bailey Couch both chipped in with nine. Junior Abby Barton added seven points.
