Though the Bishop Ludden girls basketball team picked up wins over Bishop Grimes and Mexico without Danielle Rauch in the lineup, it was quite glad to see its Michigan-bound senior leader return to the court.
A combination of illness and injury had sidelined Rauch, but she displayed her eagerness to get going again when the state Class B no. 5-ranked Gaelic Knights, hosting Hannibal last Monday, prove quite impressive in an 81-35 victory over the Warriors.
Even with a 10-7 record going into the game, Hannibal could not handle the full brunt of the Ludden attack as the hosts established a 43-22 lead by halftime and didn’t stop there.
Rauch put together yet another triple-double, augmenting her 23 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Aurora Deshaies had 17 points and Amarah Streiff put up 10 points as Lauren Petrie and Grace Murry had seven points apiece. Kaitlyn Kibling and Jayden Burney each put up six points.
Still at home to face Chittenango on Thursday night, Ludden prevailed 69-33. During the second and third quarters, the Gaelic Knights outscored the Bears 44-9.
Rauch earned most of her 29 points during that stretch. Deshaies flourished, too, with 15 points as Streiff gained eight points. For Chittenango, Ally Shoemaker led the way, earning 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Then it was Ludden against Phoenix on Saturday, Rauch’s last regular-season home game. And it turned into a celebration as the Gaelic Knights played a near-perfect first quarter and took apart the Firebirds 69-31.
When that opening period was done, Ludden had a 24-0 lead on Phoenix. The shutout didn’t last, but the Gaelic Knights kept pouring it on as Rauch gathered up 14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, six steals and four blocks.
Aside from a game-high 21 points, Deshaies tacked on 11 rebounds and three blocks, while Streiff gained 14 points and seven rebounds. Olivia Boyea contributed six points from a pair of 3-pointers.
Westhill, who had moved back to no. 10 in the state rankings, had played Phoenix earlier in the week, steadily working its way past the Firebirds 58-34 as the Warriors rolled to a 17-6 lead by the end of the first quarter and then started the second half with a 19-6 burst.
Amid those bursts, Katelyn Karleski put together 14 points, leading a well-balanced attack as Mackenzie Martin had 13 points and Jenna Larrabee got 11 points. Morgan Elmer had nine points and Sara Galante contributed six points.
Then Westhill visited Jordan-Elbridge Thursday night and worked past the Eagles 52-34, though it wasn’t that easy at the outset.
An inspired J-E side led 13-11 through one quarter, but was held to five points the rest of the half as the Warriors took charge, led by Larrabee, whose 16 points included eight free throws. Elmer added 12 points and Karleski nine points as, for the Eagles, Alexis Braun had 12 points and Ashlee Eaton had nine points.
J-E had already gone to Solvay last Tuesday night, with the Eagles putting a severe dent in the Bearcats’ playoff hopes by pulling out a 36-34 victory.
All game long, it proved close, the teams rarely separated by more than one basket. Yet J-E held on as Eaton got 12 points, with Braun earning nine points and Allison Jennings adding 11 points.
On Solvay’s side, too much of the offense centered on Nadea Davis, who had 18 points, more than half her team’s output, plus nine rebounds. Carly Devereaux had six points as Brielle Bagozzi and Johnae Crenshaw had seven rebounds apiece.
Now Solvay had to get a win over Hannibal on Thursday, but could not do so, falling 50-40 as it overcame a slow start to tie it 20-20 by halftime, but saw the Warriors take charge by outscoring them 20-11 in the third quarter.
Davis still had 12 points and 12 rebounds, with Aleah Yaizzo adding nine points (from three 3-pointers) and five rebounds. With her 14 points, Hannibal’s Katie Pitcher surpassed 1,000 career points as Mackenzie Mattison led the Warriors with 22 points.
Marcellus had gone through a difficult season. The two seniors the Mustangs hoped to have on the roster, Lauren Young and Grace Hoey, both saw their seasons end with torn ACLs – Young during volleyball season, Hoey on Nov. 30 in a game against Skaneateles.
Still, with a lineup entirely composed of underclassmen, Marcellus fought through, and on Friday before the game against Christian Brothers Academy, Young and Hoey were honored for staying with the team and serving as mentors to the younger players.
As to the game, the Mustangs held the Brothers without afield goal in the first quarter and were up 24-15 at halftime, only to give up that lead in the third quarter as CBA wore Marcellus down and eventually prevailed 53-45.
Still, it was an inspiring effort from the young Mustangs as Sarah Fallon got 15 points and 13 rebounds, with Emma MacLachlan getting 10 rebounds as she and Mei LaMarre had eight points apiece. Claudia Leubner added nine points as Brooke Jarvis led CBA with 25 points.
