By Dylan Butler
A week after beating league rival Bishop Kearney in overtime to win the Monsignor King Tournament in Brooklyn, The Mary Louis Academy was back on the basketball court against the same Tigers in a key CHSAA matchup.
Monday at Mary Louis, it was more of the same, another close game decided in the final minutes. But this time the Hilltoppers were uncharacteristically poor from the free throw line and struggled in the fourth quarter. Visiting Bishop Kearney took advantage to win, 69-61.
“We usually shoot about 75 to 80 percent from the foul line in practice,” said Mary Louis head coach Joe Lewinger. “Today, those shots just didn’t go in. It was the little things we didn’t do that added up to the big outcome.”
Without a real post presence, Mary Louis (9-10, 3-5) relies on its quickness and ability to drive and get to the foul line. But the Hilltoppers shot just 13-of-21 from the charity stripe, including 7-of-13 in the fourth quarter.
Mary Louis led for most of the game and on a three-pointer by Erin Breen that capped a 9-2 run, the Hilltoppers had their largest lead of the game, 43-34, with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
But led by junior Caitlin Boyle, Bishop Kearney (11-7, 5-2) took the game over during a critical three-minute stretch.
The Tigers scored from inside — Boyle hit a pair of 8-footers — and from outside when Katelyn Lawler nailed a three-pointer to cut Mary Louis’ lead to two, 45-43, to open the fourth quarter.
On Boyle’s foul-line jumper, Kearney went up 47-45, its first lead since 18-16 late in the first quarter.
“I wasn’t happy with our team’s performance [in the Monsignor King tournament] because we didn’t have the inside-outside game going,” said Kearney coach Cathy Crockett. “No matter what I told them that they had to establish the inside-outside game. That’s basically what they did today and what we need to do to be successful.”
Mary Louis guard Susan Basile, who was plagued with foul trouble, returned to the game early in the fourth quarter and the Hilltoppers promptly regained the lead on a pair of Breen free throws.
But two minutes later Basile picked up her fifth foul, severely limiting Mary Louis’ ability to drive to the basket.
“Sue’s very deceiving. People look at her and think she’s going to stay outside but she creates shots for herself and her teammates,” Lewinger said. “With that missing we had to have Donna [Lohrey] bringing up the ball more than we wanted.”
In addition to scoring a career-high 28 points, Boyle also did a good job containing the explosive Lohrey, who finished with 19 points but was held scoreless in the final two minutes of the game.
“A lot of games it’s [Katelyn] Lawler who has 19 points and I score nine. We just complement each other,” Boyle said. “It just depends on who’s hot that day.”
In addition to Boyle’s 28 points, Belle Harbor residents Jennifer Lawler and Katelyn Lawler had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Kearney. Breen netted 15 points for Mary Louis, which plays key league games against Molloy (Wednesday) and Bishop Loughlin (Friday).
“It was little mistakes, mental errors,” Lohrey said. “A turnover here, a missed layup there. It all adds up. Last game we played an almost perfect game but today they scored on our turnovers.”
Christ the King 83, Bishop Loughlin 40. The Royals got 23 points from Shay Doron, Cigi McCollin added 17, Candice Lindsay had 13 and Amanda Locasio scored 11. Chris the King raised its record to 11-2 overall and 7-0 in league play.
St. Francis Prep 83, Archbishop Molloy 28. Dawn Gorynski led the way for the Terriers with 28 points and Elizabeth Yuneman added 19 as St. Francis improved to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in league play.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
