Dec 21, 2024
12/20/24 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Bishop Guilfoyle’s Morgan Ruggery is fouled by Central’s Maddie Benton.
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
MARTINSBURG — Last season as a freshman, guard/forward Morgan Ruggery was a big part of the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy PIAA Class 1A girls basketball championship team.
That figures to be the case with Ruggery for the next three seasons, as she exhibited Friday night, scoring a career-high 30 points to lead unbeaten Bishop Guilfoyle to a 53-29 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over Central at the Central High School gymnasium.
Ruggery scored 15 points in both halves for BG, which improved its overall season record to 6-0 and its conference record to 5-0.
“It felt really good,” Ruggery said of her career-high milestone. “This was a really nice game to play. I’m real proud of how we came out tonight and played real hard as a team. We made a lot of steals tonight, and I was able to get several transition buckets off those steals.”
BG coach Kristi Kaack said Ruggery plays a strong game driving to the basket.
“She plays the game the right way,” Kaack said of the sophomore standout. “She did a good job of attacking and getting to the rim tonight, which is the strength of her game.”
Senior guard Marah Dickson, who scored a game-high 12 points for Central, hit a 3-point shot early in the third quarter to pull the Lady Dragons to within nine points, 29-20. After that, however, it was all BG the rest of the way.
Ruggery hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, and freshman Layona Williams scored from inside as BG opened a 34-20 lead. Two Ruggery free throws and a Ruggery layup made it 38-20 as the Lady Marauders went on cruise control the rest of the way.
“Central deserves credit — they were playing hard and aggressive, and they were getting to most of the loose balls in the first half,” Kaack said. “Our coaches challenged our girls at halftime to be more aggressive in the second half.”
Ruggery said that BG came out of the locker room after halftime and did just that.
“We’ve worked real hard pushing each other in practice, we knew that we would need to come out with energy in the second half, and that’s what we did,” Ruggery said.
Central (1-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference) stayed within reach during the first half, trailing by just five points, 17-12, early in the second quarter, and by 12 points, 29-17, at halftime.
BG’s pressure defense forced Central into several turnovers that enabled the Lady Marauders to gain separation in the second half.
“When you’re playing a team as good as they are, you know that you’re going to get their ‘A’ game for four quarters,” Central coach Blake Over said of the Lady Marauders. “And when your ‘A’ game turns into a ‘C’ game, that (BG) lead can swell very fast.
“They’re so consistent for an entire game and we had a little bit of a lull where we threw some passes away,” Over said. “You can’t afford to make those mistakes against them.”
BG had a slight 28-27 edge in rebounds, with sophomore Anberlyn Petrecca pacing the Lady Marauders with six rebounds and sophomore Addie Himes grabbing a game-high seven for Central.
BG made 21 of 45 floor shots for a 46.7 percent clip, while Central converted only 12 of 41 for 29.2 percent.
Both teams are off until after the Christmas holiday. BG travels to North Allegheny High School to take on Peters Township next Saturday, while Central faces Penn Cambria in the Tyrone Tournament next Friday.
Kaack is happy with what she has seen of her BG team through its first six games.
“We play a lot of different kids and we’re working on some different combinations,” Kaack said. “I’m real proud of what everybody on this team has contributed for us when they step out on to the floor.”
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (53): Adams 0 0-0 0, Ruggery 12 5-8 30, Yeskey 4 0-2 8, Petrecca 2 1-2 6, Querry 1 1-2 3, Haigh 0 0-0 0, Williams 2 0-0 4, Homan 0 1-2 1, Stewart 0 1-2 1, P. Ronan 0 0-0 0, A. Ronan 0 0-0 0, Seaman 0 0-0 0, Hite 0 0-0 0. Totals – 21 9-18 53.
CENTRAL (29): Dickson 4 1-2 12, Poet 1 0-0 2, Boyles 2 0-0 4, L. Imes 4 0-2 9, Benton 0 0-0 0, A. Imes 1 0-0 2, Rhykerd 0 0-0 0. Totals – 12 1-4 29.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 17 12 12 12–53
Central 8 9 5 7–29
3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 2 (Ruggery, Petrecca); Central 4 (Dickson 3, L. Imes).
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (6-0 overall, 5-0 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Central (1-5, 1-3).
Officials: Bill Pfeffer, Sue Kovensky, Joe Bilka.
HOUTZDALE — Williamsburg ran out to a 12-point lead after three quarters of play, and despite being outscored in …
HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Hollidaysburg Area High School swim teams cruised to wins over DuBois as the boys won 90-59, …
By Matt Michelone For the Mirror CRESSON — Both of the Central Cambria and Penn Cambria girls basketball …
SPRING MILLS — Lilly Gerwert knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 29 points, pulled down eight …
Hollidaysburg outlasted Forest Hills, 10-9, in an overtime high school ice hockey game Thursday at Galactic …
Copyright © Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411
