Playing Bishop Guilfoyle under normal circumstances is hard enough.
The Lady Marauders are traditionally a deep team that comes at you in waves and runs a patient enough offense that it consistently gets looks at the basket that it likes.
It’s even tougher on nights like last night. With the Tyrone Lady Eagles packed into a 1-3-1 zone designed to force Guilfoyle to settle for outside shots, the Lady Marauders made 11 of their first 22 attempts in the first quarter to open a 28-8 lead.
It was the gateway to a 67-31 stomping of the Lady Eagles in the first round of the Great Chevy Shootout at Pleasant Valley Gymnasium. Guilfoyle finished the game a toasty 25-for-50 from the floor, with two players finishing in double figures and 12 scoring.
“(BG coach) Mark Moschella said to me after the game this was a special team that had five girls who could score 20 points on any given night,” said Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades. “We started out in a zone to take away the outside shot, but they hit everything. They really had an outstanding night shooting.”
Add to that the fact that – through the first two quarters – Tyrone was a willing victim, especially against BG’s vaunted full-court pressure. Without injured guards Rachel Emigh and Kassie Faretta, the Lady Eagles turned the ball over 16 times in the first half, including 13 in the first quarter.
When BG went to the locker room at halftime with a 44-14 lead, 16 of their points came off Lady Eagle turnovers.
“The way they ran their press, it was like a zone, but they were denying the ball everywhere,” said Rhoades. “It’s tough without having a point guard to put in the middle of it.”
But while Tyrone dropped its fifth consecutive game, the news wasn’t all bad. Senior Kayla Corle pumped in a career-high 25 points to lead all scorers, single-handedly keeping the Lady Eagles close.
“Our game plan was to get her between 20 and 30 shots,” said Rhoades. We figured even when she missed we would be able to get rebounds and possibly score some points that way. I hoped we would have rebounded better than we did because that part of the plan never happened, but Kayla played hard and did very well.”
After BG bolted to a 5-0 lead 30 seconds into the first quarter, Tyrone would never come closer than a single basket after Corle hit the first of her five three-point baskets. The Lady Marauders responded with a 14-0 run, with top scorers Kaylee Keagy (16 points) and Ali Williams (12 points) taking turns making lay ups and jumpers on the heels of Tyrone turnovers.
Even when the pace settled in the second quarter, it was still too much for the Lady Eagles. Tyrone turned the ball over only three times, but they managed just one field goal on a Corle trey. Meanwhile, BG went just 4-for-9, but got to the foul line 10 times, making five.
During the Lady Eagles’ best period, when they made 4 of 7 shots in the third quarter, BG went 6-for-8 and forced six turnovers to carry the frame 14-12.
“I thought we played them pretty even after halftime,” Rhoades said. “For the most part, every girl gave everything they had the entire time they were on the floor.”
Now 2-5, Tyrone will face the loser of today’s game between Bishop McCort and Delone Catholic tomorrow in the consolation game at 1 p.m.
TYRONE – Corle 8 4-4 25; Garbinsky 1 2-2 5; Christine 0 1-2 1; Hawes 0 0-0 0; Ray 0 0-0 0; Harden 0 0-0 0; Zimmerman 0 0-0 0; Ford 0 0-0 0; Romano 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 9 7-8 31.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Keagy 7 2-3 16; Al. Williams 5 1-2 12; Neugebauer 2 4-7 8; Rea 1 1-1 3; Conrad 1 1-2 3; Filer 3 0-2 6; Hite 1 0-0 2; Stayer 1 0-0 2; Seasoltz 1 0-0 2; Brennan 0 1-2 1; Am. Williams 1 0-0 2; Wigman 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 25 10-17 67.
3-POINT GOALS: Tyrone 6 (Corle 5, Garbinsky), Bishop Guilfoyle 1 (Al. Williams)
TYRONE 8 6 12 5 – 31
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 28 16 14 9 – 67
