January 19, 2006 Issue                                               

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

Balanced attack takes Magic past Monarchs
by TOM UTESCHER

Mount co-captain Rebecca Naab is always one of the hardest-working players on the floor. (Photo by Lene White)

Mount St. Joseph Academy’s Laura Johnson, Elle Hagedorn, and Sarah McGorry pulled down five rebounds apiece and scored 16, 13, and 11 points, respectively, as the host Magic turned away Gwynedd Mercy last Saturday afternoon, 53-35.

Hagedorn and Johnson each pocketed five steals, as well, disrupting the offensive plans of the visiting Monarchs, who fell to 1-4 within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies, and 6-7 overall.

In their only other action last week, the MSJ Magic lost 53-41 to undefeated league leader St. Basil’s, but Saturday’s outcome allowed the locals to regain a winning record in the AACA (4-3) while lifting their overall mark to 8-5.

Johnson turned in one of her best all-round efforts of the season in the Gwynedd game. At the outset, she hit a jumper from beyond the foul line, fed McGorry for a lay-up, and then sank a pair of free throws for a 6-0 Magic lead. The hosts would remain in front the rest of the day.

A little over four minutes into the contest, Gwynedd got on the board with a lay-up by Ashley Whitney, but she did not score again. The Mount also did a good job of stifling Monarchs outside shooter Lexy Chiarantona, who was held to a total of three points.

A high incidence of personal fouls forced the two coaches to adjust their line-ups, and each team took 27 free throws, with the Mount making 18 to GMA’s 12. The difference was Gwynedd’s 3/13 performance in the first half, which helped the Magic move away to a 14 point-lead by the intermission.

MSJ’s Hagedorn scored the Mount’s last seven points of the first quarter on a lay-up, two free throws, and a three-pointer, helping the hosts start the next period with a 16-10 advantage. Three minutes into the second frame, Monarchs scoring leader Jill Lowry (10 points total) hit a baseline shot that had Gwynedd back within five at 19-14.

Johnson countered with a 15-footer, then stole the ball back and passed it ahead to Hagedorn for a fast-break bucket. Johnson then drove for a lay-up of her own, and Hagedorn followed up by draining a pair of free throws, putting Mount St. Joe up 27-14.

The Magic led 32-18 at a halftime, and Gwynedd was never able to bring the margin back down into single digits. MSJ’s McGorry was partly to blame for that, as she collected nine of her 11 points in the second half. Meghan Sabia did a good job helping to run the Mount offense and made some nice defensive plays as well, winding up with six points on the day. Alexa Buchanan, Caitlin Eccleston, and Claire Kueny chalked up two apiece for the winners.

Following Lowry on Gwynedd’s score sheet was Bridget Welz, who came on late to deposit eight points in the last nine minutes. Joining Chiarantona with three points were Christy Losier and Katie McGrath, and Gwynedd got two apiece from Whitney, Bergan Foley, Suzy Jaggers, and Brie Katzraner.