It wasn’t the end to the calendar year McAuley Catholic had hoped for as both basketball teams suffered losses against Kansas Class 3A Galena in an interstate matchup to close out the 2021 portion of the schedule.
Opening the evening of hoops, the McAuley girls took it on the chin in the game-changing second quarter on the way to a 53-42 loss to the Bulldogs before the Galena boys started fast and never looked back in a 63-33 win over the Warriors in the nightcap on Monday.
GALENA USES SECOND-QUARTER SURGE TO DISTANCE ITSELF IN WIN
The McAuley girls basketball team showed fight late before suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of the Bulldogs.
After the Warriors took a lead into the second period, Galena forced several turnovers while building a 10-point advantage by halftime. The Bulldogs pushed the lead as high as 16 points in the fourth quarter before the Warriors (8-1) rallied to trim the deficit to single digits late. McAuley couldn’t get any closer than nine before the sound of the final horn.
“The first thing I told them when we were down in the locker room was that I was super proud of them for having tremendous heart because they didn’t quit on this game,” McAuley coach Mike Howard said. “They could have quit very easily and they didn’t. They played hard and played good defense down the stretch to get back into it. I just think we ran out of steam.
“I told them that despite this loss, they are 8-1 right now and that is by far the best start to a season I have had here as a coach heading into the break. I told them not to hang their heads. I want this loss to sting in the back of their minds so they learn from it and get better because of it. They are in a great position right now. We just have to get better, but I think this is going to motivate them to do just that.”
A defensive-heavy first quarter saw McAuley come away with a 6-3 lead highlighted by a 3-pointer from senior Kennedy DeRuy and a bucket from senior Avery Eminger.
The momentum changed for good in the second quarter, as Galena outscored McAuley 17-4 thanks in large part to its ability to force the Warriors into several turnovers, with that number reaching more than 20 by the end of regulation, to build a 20-10 lead by the intermission.
“They started making some shots from the outside against our zone defense, and I felt like our zone got a little weak there,” Howard said of what he saw in the second period. “Galena had a good game plan and pressured us a lot. … We didn’t take care of the ball very well in the second quarter. We turned it over quite a bit, and that was the theme for the game. We didn’t take care of the ball and we couldn’t get anything going offensively. They played harder than us tonight.”
Senior Raylynn Downey highlighted the second quarter for Galena with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Mia Sarwinski and freshman Rylee Boyes also knocked down 3-pointers in the period.
McAuley cut the lead to six several times in the third quarter, including a 3-ball from senior Kayleigh Teeter that trimmed the deficit to 22-16 and an inside score from Eminger that made the score 26-20 near the four-minute mark.
The Bulldogs closed the third period on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 13 heading into the final eight minutes, 36-23. Sarwinski, who finished with 11 points in the period, accounted for three of the field goals in the run, with Arysta Sturgis converting from the perimeter.
Galena pushed the margin to 16 early in the fourth quarter before back-to-back three-point plays from DeRuy and Teeter cut the lead to 10, 45-35, with 4:23 left in regulation. DeRuy knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key off the assist from Teeter with 1:35 left to make the score 50-41, but that was as close to the lead as the Warriors would get before time ran out.
SCORING LEADERS
Sarwinski finished with 21 points to lead all scorers, while Downey had 10 points for Galena. Boyes finished with seven.
“It was hard to contain Mia (Sarwinski),” Howard said. “She was amazing tonight. She is a solid player and she is quick. It is very hard to stay in front of her.”
DeRuy had 17 to lead McAuley in scoring, while Teeter had 12 and Eminger 10 to give the Warriors three players in double figures.
UP NEXT
McAuley is back in action next in 2022, traveling to Wyandotte on Jan. 6.
MCAULEY BOYS FALL IN EARLY HOLE AND NEVER RECOVER
Galena scored the first seven points of the game and built a 16-3 lead by the end of the first quarter before going on to a sizable win over the McAuley boys basketball team.
The Bulldogs took a 25-point lead into the intermission before extending it to as much as 36 in the third quarter. The Warriors showed fight after starting the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run, though it wouldn’t be enough for a comeback bid.
“That is this group’s M.O.,” McAuley coach Tony Witt said about his team’s ability to fight back at the end of the loss. “I tell them that all the time. I absolutely love them because they do not give up. I have had teams give up when they’re down eight and all of a sudden, it’s 20. But, this group doesn’t do that. We kept battling, but we just have to understand you have to compete on the front end (of games) as well as the back end.
“They are a very well-coached team and space the floor very well. I don’t know if they missed a shot in the first five minutes, but they were hitting open shots and looking for each other. It is just a sign of a well-coached team. They are going to win a lot of games this year.”
Kobe McGlothlin led Galena with 12 points, while Jack Perry had nine. Brett Sarwinski and Tyler Little each finished with eight points.
Michael Parrigon led McAuley with nine points on three 3-pointers. Joe Staton added six points, while Kevin Tran and Jeffery Horinek each finished with five in the loss for McAuley.
UP NEXT
McAuley is back in action next in 2022, traveling to Wyandotte on Jan. 6.
