All season long, the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team has gone through a series of tests, steeling itself for the challenges that will inevitably arise once the post-season gets underway.
But it hasn’t always gone smoothly for the state Class B no. 15-ranked Gaelic Knights. Twice, it has lost to teams it beat at home earlier in the season, including last Thursday’s trip to Bishop Grimes that resulted in a 55-43 defeat to the Cobras.
When they had first met Dec. 8, Ludden had routed Grimes 63-40, getting 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Danielle Rauch. At first, it looked like Rauch would run wild again, netting 12 first-quarter points in the rematch to push the Gaelic Knights to a 16-9 lead.
But then Grimes, sparked by a technical fall issued to its head coach, John Cifonelli, shut down Ludden during a 19-2 second-quarter blitz to go in front, 28-18, going into halftime.
Trying to respond, Ludden got within three, 33-30, during the third period, before Abby Wilkinson’s 3-pointer allowed Grimes to regain control. It didn’t help the Gaelic Knights, either, that the game got delayed for 25 minutes early in that period due to a clock malfunction.
For most of the second half, the two teams played without a clock, with the time called off at five-second intervals and when 10 seconds or less were left in the shot clock. Amid these unusual circumstances, Grimes pulled away, holding Rauch to just eight points after her first-quarter surge.
Other than Rauch, Sara Hayes (12 points) and Laura Patulski (nine points), Ludden had just one other field goal, from Aurora Deshaies.
Meanwhile, Grimes sophomore Azariah Wade, who passed 1,000 career points a week earlier in a loss to Indian River, had 20 points to lead the Cobras, helped by Wilkinson (nine points), Katy McInerney (11 points) and Molly M cInerney (six points).
This big week for Ludden had started with a visit last Tuesday from Syracuse Academy of Science, which proved an exciting contest that required Rauch to again pick up a triple double and Patulski to have a career-best performance in the Gaelic Knights’ 73-60 victory over the Atoms.
Though it struggled on the defensive side in the early going, Ludden made up for it with its own potent attack, and once the defense settled in, it was able to build a steady margin that grew to double digits, 55-42, by the end of the third quarter.
SAS hung in there, but Patulski burned them for 25 points, plus seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks, complementing Rauch’s latest all-around masterpiece that included 22 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, plus five steals and three blocks.
Hayes, with 11 points, helped out, too, as did Karleigh Leo with six points as the Atoms got 23 points and 10 rebounds from Lyrik Jackson.