Faring better in February so far than they did in the previous month, the Mount St. Joseph Magic wrapped up the regular season schedule last Thursday evening by defeating visiting Avon Grove High School, 47-26. It was the second game in a row that Mount, a Class 5A school in PIAA District 1, took on a Class 6A (largest enrollment) opponent.

The previous Saturday, the Magic lost on the road, 49-40, to Bayard Rustin High School, the sixth-ranked team in its class. Avon Grove, number 33 in the 6A grouping, went home from Mount St. Joe's with a record of 6-7.

The Magic improved to 10-12 overall while remaining 5-6 within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. If the Mount's current ranking of eighth in Class 5A holds up, the team would make the 12-team district tournament and would host its first game in the playoffs. The top five teams emerging from District 1 will advance to the PIAA state tournament.

After going 2-1 in the league and 6-3 overall in the month of December, the Mounties were 2-5, 2-8 in January.

They started February with a league victory over Nazareth Academy, and if their respectable performance against Rustin and their win over Avon Grove were signs that the squad was getting back on track, it came at the right time, with playoffs in the offing.

Almost 90 seconds into last Thursday's home contest, the Magic got on the board when Chloe McGrorty scored in transition off a pass from fellow junior Georgia Pickett. The Magic would lead the rest of the way.

After juniors Lauren Hoffman and Kiersten Pumilia each made one of two free throws, Hoffman hit a lay-up, then Pumilia, a three-pointer. A medium-range jumper by Lianna Gardner got the visiting Red Devils going, and they added a basket from the paint to make it 9-4 at the quarter.

Another jump shot moved Avon Grove within three points of the leaders at the beginning of the second frame, but after that the visitors were outscored by the Magic, 18-4, setting the halftime tally at 27-10.

Hoffman made baskets down low to lead all scorers at the break, with seven points. McGrorty, Pickett, and Pumilia continued to produce, and freshman starter Addy Smith, junior Alexa Kennedy, and sophomore Audrey Kukla also scored.

In the third round, the MSJ lead breached the 20-point mark, then it slipped back to 18 with a trey by Sydney Traa for Unionville that made it 37-19 with 2:20 left in the period. In the last two minutes, the Mount's Pickett scored off a rebound, Hoffman cashed in on a steal, and McGrorty scored on a fast break off a Pumilia pass.

Heading into the fourth quarter ahead 43-19, Mount St. Joe kept its starters on the bench and gave its reserves a good deal of playing time. The Red Devils won the round, 7-4, so they were down by 21 at the end.

Hoffman had a game high 13 points and McGrorty also reached double figures, with 10. Pickett was close behind with nine, Pumilia had four points, and Smith and junior Carly Shouldis had three apiece. Kennedy and Kukla each finished with two points, and junior Erica Martin added a free throw.

Gardner led Avon Grove with six points, and five points apiece came from Traa and Bria Nartey.