by MEDINA, OH – In a Regional Semi-Final game where the Magnificat Blue Streaks came in as seeded underdogs, they came out and took down the 5th ranked Brush Arcs 61-53. Junior Guard Julia Hall paced the Blue Streaks dropping 26 points to go along with 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
Hall had the Blue Streaks going early as Magnificat jumped out to a 10-2 lead with 4:33 left in the opening period. She already had 6 points to her name at the time. Magnificat was able to play their style of ball early on to help them to their advantage. They got inside at will to get consistent looks at the basket. Their defense was key as well. At the end of the first quarter, Magnificat held an 18-10 lead.
Brush went shot for shot with Magnificat early in the 2nd to keep the game close. With 5:02 to play in the quarter, the Blue Streaks held on to a 6-point lead. However, after that moment, it was the Julia Hall and Reese Roggenburk show. Those girls outscored Brush themselves in the opening half as they combined for 30 of Magnificat’s 38 first half points. The Blue Streaks closed out the half on a 16-7 scoring run to take a compelling 38-23 advantage into the break.
Head Coach Daniel Gallagher was pleased with the way his team played in the first half, “As far as our first half goes, our gameplan worked perfectly. We saw what we expected, and we executed what we wanted to do” he stated after the victory.
About halfway through the 3rd quarter, it looked like Magnificat was going to be able to put the game away with ease. Katie Maryo got her shot going knocking down two 3-balls in the quarter to give her 9 in the game at the time. The Blue Streaks were leading 44-30 when the Brush Arcs began their comeback.
Within the next 2 minutes of play, the Arcs authored a 6-0 scoring run to cut Magnificat’s lead to single digits. Freshman Tatiana Mason played a massive impact up to that point in the game as she was leading the team with 15 points. Heading into the final quarter, the Blue Streaks were holding onto a 48-41 lead.
As quickly as the final quarter began, the Brush Arcs were right back in the game. In the first minute of the period, they went on another 6-0 scoring run to cut the Blue Streaks lead to just 1 point! Throughout the next 4 minutes, the teams were going back and forth exchanging leads and ties.
With 3:38 remaining in the game, and a timeout called, the Magnificat Blue Streaks had to make sure to stick to what they know. “Being committed to our values, being committed to one another, refusing to lose, and having a killer instict that when push comes to shove, we are not going to lose this game. They just fell back on that, and we did not do anything different” Coach Gallagher said after the game.
Magnificat did just that! In the final 3:38 of the game, the Blue Streaks outscored the Arcs 9-2. Multiple shots coming from inside the paint were key, to go along with free throws from multiple players down the stretch. At the final buzzer, Magnificat came away with a 61-53 victory over the Brush Arcs.
With their victory tonight, the Magnificat Blue Streaks advanced to the Regional Finals. They will take on the 8th seed Medina Bees at Medina High School on Saturday, March 9th at 7pm. Vince McKee and Maggie McKee will be on the coverage assignment for Kee On Sports in that one.
Key Players
Magnificat:
Julia Hall – 26 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Reese Roggenburk – 18 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
Katie Maryo – 10 points (3 3-pointers), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Brush:
Tatiana Mason – 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Chaniyra McDowell-Isaacs – 16 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists
Jakalyn Brown – 6 points, 11 rebounds
PLAYER OF THE GAME: JULIA HALL
